Chapter 1322 The first constellation

Chapter 1322 The first constellation

"Tch. Such a stingy academy! Isn't knowledge meant for sharing?" Ignoring the ranting elf on his side, Liam gazed at the token in his hand. He did not want to waste it. He looked around the public space and selected a peaceful location in the corner first where he wouldn't be disturbed.

Since he already had the technique in his hand, he did not plan on staying in this place for long. He would first do some basic research on the technique he had acquired, see if he needed anything further for completing the technique and then check out the token area. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

If everything worked out well, then he wouldn't have to stay long on this floor. This Spire was a treasure trove that kept on giving and he wanted to push more and more. Starting with this Soul cultivation technique he was going to conquer everything.

With firm determination, Liam settled in a meditative position and closed his eyes. He focused on the abundant information he had received about the new technique.

It took him a few minutes but he was able to quickly summarize the heart of the Myriad Constellations Technique. The whole thing revolved around storing one's soul energy in specific patterns that mimicked the alignment of stars and constellations in the cosmos.

As Liam delved into the technique, the first verse of the Myriad Constellations Technique unfolded before his mind's eye.

"In the vast expanse of the boundless sky, where stars weave the tales of time, align thy soul with the celestial array, and harness the cosmos' sublime rhyme."

Liam wondered if he had to pick a constellation and then mirror his soul according to it. This would be a problem because he had no idea what constellations there were. He had never read anything about this. He also did not understand how this was related to the soul.

Thankfully, it looked like he was wrong because he didn't have to do anything of that sort. Apparently, each soul already had a natural alignment and all one had to do was make the stars and they would automatically, magnetically get fixed in the respective pattern.

The process seemed simple enough. Liam started working on it immediately. It was weird how little he knew about the soul considering that he had spent a lot of time forging them and meddling with them. Well, in all honesty his 'lot of time' wasn't even a drop in the bucket when compared to the general lifespan of beings in the myriad realms. So he did not dare have any egotistical claims about being experienced in this field.

However, he did feel confident in accomplishing at least the first constellation within a day or two. That much was still possible for him.

Liam focused his mind and slowly started gathering his soul energy or rather what was left of it. The initial stage of the Myriad Constellations Technique was akin to laying down the foundation for a grand structure that would be built gradually, piece by piece, star by star.

His injury instantly inflicted a mind-numbing pain on him but it was nothing he wasn't used to. He pushed himself and slowly started pulling in all the tiny little fragments or wisps floating around in his soul space.

This was something he had already tried before and failed. The difference was that now he tried to align these fragments in a specific manner or rather a specific rune. The symbol was called a rune of power and was the very foundation of the Myriad Constellations Technique.

Liam was anxious if this meant he needed to have a deeper understanding of the runes for this method to become successful but it turned out that the skill scroll that imparted the technique to him had already helped him in this aspect.

As he gathered his first minuscule barely stable blob of soul energy, unlike before it did not explode on his face and disperse. Instead, it started circulating along the rune of power. Like current flowing through a circuit, the small piece of his soul started looping on the rune. The energy moved smoothly, with no resistance or leakage. This was the first sign that he was on the right path, a small but significant victory in his journey towards mastering the Myriad Constellations Technique. Liam sucked in a deep breath. He was now more confident than ever. He was going to do this. He was going to achieve this first constellation within a single day or two.

Encouraged by this success, he continued with renewed focus. The pain caused by his soul injury served as a constant reminder of the stakes, and fueled his determination. Every completed circuit of energy within the rune of power seemed to soothe the pain a bit, as if the process of alignment and stabilization was inherently healing.

The technique required him to build multiple runes of power and then connect them in a way that they did not repel each other. Each of these runes formed a star in the array and in the end, the entire array would become stabilized.

It was a huge undertaking and Liam was dealing with it one step at a time. This required not just concentration but a deep, intuitive understanding of the soul's nature. It was as if he was drawing a map of the stars within his very soul, each rune a beacon of light in the darkness.

Hours passed as he meticulously worked on forming the runes, his soul space gradually transforming. The once chaotic and fragmented energy began to show signs of order and harmony. The pain from his injury lessened with each successful alignment, replaced by a sense of wholeness he hadn't felt since before his injury.

He was definitely weaker. Sure. The injured parts of his soul were yet to heal but at least now they were not floating around like shredded waste. They were slowly starting to tie together. He was forcefully stitching them together by bringing them to the rune of power.

Chapter 1323 It is time

Eventually, Liam completed the first rune of power. About one-tenth of his soul strength was contained in this rune. This meant that he would in total perhaps only manage to create ten or so runes.

Anything less than a hundred for the first layer of the soul was deemed as inferior talent but it didn't matter. This was the start. Once the first layer is formed, Liam would be able to make the layer stronger.

Without losing focus, he quickly started working on the second rune. Time continued to slip by and soon a few hours later, Liam was already on the last rune. He almost had the whole first constellation down pat. Ten years time limit? What a load of bullshit!

With a final push, he managed to form the last rune as well when all the eleven runes suddenly started vibrating strongly. Then without any warning, a crippling pain assaulted him as all the runes of power exploded in his face or rather in his soul space.

Liam shuddered from the pain. Blood trickled down his lips and his face turned ashen. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief. He couldn't understand what had happened. He should have succeeded.

However, he did not dwell too much on the failure. This was only his first try after all. He was definitely going to succeed the second time.

Liam once again dove into deep focus as he started gathering all of his broken and torn apart soul wisps. It was not apparent at first but clearly his soul was a little more damaged now when compared to before. It seemed that failing in the technique had a negative effect which made him weaker each time even if it was by a small amount.

'Isn't that just perfect?' Liam grumbled and continued with the second try. If the technique was not effective, he would have already let go of it but he could clearly feel it. The technique was working. It would work once he had it all in place.

Liam once again started gathering bits and pieces of his soul again right from the scratch. The soul was composed of different layers and he tried to visualize his outer layer particles to be yellowish white in color to make the process easier.

He tugged bits and pieces and again dragged them along a rune of power. Once again, pain assaulted him. With every bit of focus and willpower, he meticulously moved the soul fragments, mindful of the explosive failure from his first attempt.

As he worked, Liam couldn't help but consider the possible reasons for his initial failure. Was it an issue with the alignment of the runes, or perhaps the amount of soul energy he was trying to contain within each rune was too much for his current state?

With these thoughts in mind, he proceeded more cautiously, paying extra attention to the balance and harmony between the runes. He made sure that each rune was equally saturated.

A few more hours passed by and this time his progress was definitely faster than before. He soon weaved together all eleven of the runes. He was so close to finishing the first constellation.

Close but it was not enough. Once again everything exploded.

This time Liam keeled over in pain, unable to withstand the backlash.

With a shaky breath, Liam forced himself to sit up. He wiped the blood from his lips and closed his eyes, not to retreat into despair, but to seek the calm center of his being where his resolve lay unbroken. Naturally, he was going to try again.

Third attempt.

Another failure.

Fourth attempt.

Another failure.

Liam barely had any strength left in him anymore but he couldn't stop now. He could feel it. He was so close and yet he was lacking something. He just needed one small push and he would arrive at his destination.

Fifth attempt.

Yet another failure.

This time Liam could not handle the backlash anymore and was forced to stop his meditation. A small smile played on his lips despite the pain that wrecked his body. This was a good day's work. Tomorrow he would be better.

Liam did not even bother moving to another place. He simply laid back down on the same spot to rest his mind, his soul and his body. Every failed attempt affected every part of him somehow even though he was only practicing a soul technique.

As he tried to shut off his mind, numerous theories about how this could be possible swirled in his mind but he quickly drowned all of them to get some well deserved rest. Just a few hours. That was all he needed.

On his side, Liam could faintly hear Eldrin saying something but he did not care. The elf's complaints could wait for a while. He briefly closed his eyes. A couple of hours passed by when suddenly something tugged him awake.

This damned elf! Liam woke up with a jolt when he felt a bright golden glow enveloping him.

"Hmmm? How is this possible?" Liam did not understand. He hadn't done anything to trigger them getting kicked out of this floor. He was just sleeping for a couple of hours for god's sake. What was happening? Did he miss something else?

His head snapped to turn and look at Eldrin who had a bitter smile on his face. "You don't know, do you?" The elf said.

"I don't know what?" Liam checked and even the token was still in his possession. Seriously, what the heck could have triggered this?

"My Lord, it is time for us to leave the Spire." The elf laughed bitterly.

"Huh? How? Did we die?" Liam hurriedly checked to see if someone had dared to kill him in his sleep. Wasn't this a library of a famous academy run by that monstrous 'founder'? How could it be possible for someone to kill him?

But to his surprise, there was no bloodshed or signs of any fight. The elf was also rather calm, albeit a little annoyed. The elf then explained. "My Lord, you spent all the remaining days sitting on the same spot and meditating!"

Chapter 1324 Escaped?

Liam was speechless. "You mean I slept for so many days?"

Eldrin shook his head. "No, my Lord. You slept for a few hours but your meditation session went on for quite a while. You must have made significant progress huh? Is your soul injury cured?" The elf asked with a bitter smile.

Liam's face changed. The elf's words were shoving daggers deeper into his wounds and twisting them. No. He hadn't made any progress at all. In fact, he had failed in every single attempt. However, he was pretty sure he hadn't spent that much time. What was happening? Did he lose track of time while practicing the technique? Did he underestimate the difficulty of the technique? When the instructor warned him that the technique would be extremely difficult, he didn't think too much about it but now he understood the ten years time limit. Maybe there was even a real chance of failing to comprehend the technique in ten years?!!

No. He couldn't let that happen under any circumstance.

Before he could make sense of the situation, the golden glow fully enveloped them, followed by utter darkness. The darkness jolted him from his stupor. Liam quickly snapped out of it. No matter what had happened in the Spire he would have to think about it later. Now there were far more pressing concerns. He was being shoved back into the real world and that meant he would be facing a whole slew of attacks, all aimed to slaughter him. He would return to the same time point in Nymphomania and they hadn't left on a good note. They had run away from an army of angry beings in Nymphomania and now they would all be right where he left them.

But now there wasn't much holding him back. Liam's anger and frustration surged from getting kicked out of the Spire so unceremoniously. He had wanted to climb more and gain more and he was already done. Had he been too weak for the Spire? Was his strength not comparable to the other elites of the myriad realms?

The strongest of the myriad realms had managed to reach all the way up to tenth segment and eleventh segment but he couldn't even cross the fifth segment. This was his limit?

Liam felt a surge of energy as everything returned to him including his spatial artifact and all the items he was wearing before he entered. He could feel Luna's presence and his other newly contracted beasts presence and the next instant, he could also feel the presence of the overwhelming oppressive energy all around him.

He could feel the tremendous pressure exerted by the combined attacks waiting to explode his body. This was it. They were going to be put back right in the midst of the chaos and commotion.

Just like that the last tendrils of the barrier between himself and the surroundings broke off and Liam, and everyone else materialized in the same spot as before.

In front of a violent mob who couldn't wait to rip him to shreds. The draconian family young master was still there in front of the system shop, bombarding him with attacks along with many others. An unnecessary complication he neither needed nor wanted.

Also, all of them were completely unaware of what had happened in the last 99 days.

Liam had crushed the Spire token while some barriers were still active so the few attacks landed on the barriers and broke them apart. Now the group was standing helpless and vulnerable unprotected. There was nothing between them and the angry mob. At least in the eyes of others.

A vicious smirk appeared on the draconian family young master as his murderous gaze locked onto Liam. For a moment he felt as if something was different, something had changed but he immediately shook it off. Today he was going to destroy this arrogant fool.

However, the next second, a ripple of intense energy spread out. Young master Kael shuddered as he felt a domineering presence gaze down on him. It was suffocating. He could feel the blood lust that wrapped him around and tried to snuff him out.

Liam's gaze met his and at the same time spikes of nether and ice struck the monolithe he was using to block all spatial distortions.

"Impossible!" Kael's face turned grave, but he couldn't prevent what was happening next. In front of the system shop, Liam easily activated a teleportation token to return back to his home world right in front of his eyes. Kael hurriedly tried to mobilize a few more spatial destabilizers when unexpectedly none of his methods seemed to work. A pitch-black fortress appeared around Liam and nothing he did was able to pass through that fortress.

"He... He erected a domain?" Kael's eyes went wide.

"What the heck? How is his domain so strong?" Kael was not able to understand. What was happening? One second he was winning and the next second everything was completely upside down. How could there be such a sudden power surge? At this rate... the arrogant fool was definitely going to escape and he wouldn't be able to do a single thing.

On the other side, Liam strengthened the domain further. He might have failed in climbing the Spire higher but he was not going to lose here. He imbued his domain more and more with his two dao seeds, the combined effect further amplified by his recent progress and increase in stats. Every single one of the attacks falling on the group sizzled and fizzed out as the fortress formed an impregnable barrier.

Right in front of everyone's eyes the teleportation token fully activated and the figures standing in the midst of the chaos disappeared one after the other. Right up till the last moment, Kael did not give up and tried to use some sort of artifact but it was already too late. The spot in front of the system shop was completely deserted. The entire group was gone. They had all escaped.

"Arrrghhh!" The young master trembled in rage and humiliation. He turned to grab the person standing next to him. "You said I was going to capture him. You said I was going to win! Did your mana mirror lie?! Or have you become incompetent. Tell me." "Because I can help you with both of these. If your divination mirror is no longer useful, I will break it for you. If you are no longer able to divine then I will break you. Perhaps in your rebirth you will be more useful!"

The poor guy shivered. "My Lord, please have mercy. My divination is not wrong. They will get captured. They cannot return home. They will be held prisoners. I am sure of it, my lord. They cannot leave Nymphomania today. I am not lying."

Kael snorted in contempt as he waved a few of his bodyguards to deal with the raving lunatic. He then crushed a token and teleported from the world. This time around the trip had been a complete waste. This was why he never listened to these mirror diviners. They were all a bunch of scammers. His grandfather was merely foolish to trust the words of these liars.

As for that person... Kael clenched his fists. Sooner or later, he would find out his identity and when he did that arrogant fool was going to pay.

Meanwhile...

Liam opened his eyes. His face changed immediately because he knew something was wrong. He couldn't sense Luna at all. He couldn't sense any of his contracted beasts. This had nothing to do with the Spire because his spatial artifact and his other possessions were intact.

He turned to the side to see Rey, Madan and Lan Deming standing with him, looking equally puzzled. Coincidentally both Eldrin and Dante were missing. Liam was pretty sure the both of them had been right next to him back in Nymphomania but now they were somehow missing.

What was happening? Was the teleportation successful? Was there some sort of malfunction in the teleportation token?

Just as his mind raced to think about what he might have potentially missed, a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Hello. Hello. Hello. Monsieur. Welcome to the wonderland. We are so glad to have you all. Please allow this humble bard to sing a song in your praise and make this stay as comfortable as possible."

Chapter 1325 Paradise Chapter 1326 A prison?Chapter 1327 You have been scammed

"The end result is me reduced to this state but that bastard still did not kill me. He gave me the punishment of continuing to be his battery source until the day I die."

"On that note, if any of you are intending to fight the damn beast then make sure you do it with 100% certainty. Otherwise, you will end up just like me."

The group exchanged uneasy glances, absorbing the gravity of the head's warning. The reality of their situation was far worse than any of them could have imagined, trapped not just in a prison but within the very being of a monstrous entity that viewed them as nothing more than a source of sustenance.

Liam, regaining his composure, asked, "Is there really no way to escape? Has no one ever managed to break free from this world?"

The head let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Escape? Many have tried, and all have failed. This creature, this prison, is not just a physical space—it's a manifestation of the Salamander's power, constantly adapting and countering any attempts to breach its defenses."

But," the head paused, a flicker of something that might have been hope in its dead eyes, "there might be a way."

Everyone leaned in, despite the despair, clinging to any thread of possibility.

"You see, the Salamander's strength lies in its ability to consume and assimilate. But every predator has its weaknesses, and its strength is also its greatest vulnerability. It's a part of a cycle, a balance that must be maintained."

"Are any of you seeking the dao of poison or perhaps the dao of space?"

Everyone remained silent for a moment before shaking their heads. "Are you sure?" The head asked again, seemingly unwilling to accept it. "Are you really sure?"

Once again everyone shook their heads.

"Bah! Then what good are you all? Get lost." Without any warning, the head suddenly got hostile and a strong pressure enveloped everyone, almost choking them. "Get the hell out of here!"

Chapter 1328 That's rude

The next few days went by very fast with Liam, Madan, Rey, and Lan Deming busy traveling everywhere to thoroughly explore the place they were in. While they did not make any spectacular headway, they still managed to stumble upon something quite shocking.

In front of them was what one could only describe as a town or a city. Seeing how the past few days they had not come across anyone else they almost assumed that the place was deserted but the truth couldn't be farther from that.

The city they stumbled upon was unlike anything they had anticipated finding in what they had believed to be a monstrous prison. Its streets were bustling with activity, inhabitants of various races and origins going about their daily lives.

The group stood at the city's edge, disbelief etched into their features. "How is this even possible?" Rey murmured, his eyes scanning the lively market square where creatures of all shapes and sizes bartered goods with a familiarity that suggested long-term residence. "Were they just pulling our legs? How could we be inside a beast?"

"Oh, you are most definitely inside the salamander and you are most definitely fucked." A voice sounded from behind. A tall humanoid figure walked over to stand beside them. "Welcome to the 43rd district. Did you four just arrive?"

Rey opened his mouth to answer but he immediately blurted out at the sight of the person. "Undead?" The man who had greeted them, if he could even be called a man, had rotting flesh and exposed bones in several places. More disturbing were his eyes which were completely blacked out with a very small almost invisible white eyeball. Yet, despite his weird appearance, the man's demeanor was friendly, almost casual.

The undead nodded, a grin spreading across his decayed face. "Yes, I suppose I am what you'd call 'undead'. But that's a pretty rude word to use. You should call creatures like me 'risen' for future reference. We are not mindless maniacs, you know."

Everyone was even more perplexed by the guy's words, Liam more so. Was this a new type of undead? It looked like they really had a lot to learn about the myriad realms.

"I am Shayen. Where are you all from? Bluemoon Empire?" Everyone shook their heads. "I ask because a recent batch of humans arrived from that place. Poor guys got kidnapped en masse. Ha Ha Ha." The undead really seemed to have a very casual attitude about the whole thing.

"Shayen, how come you are-" Madan started but the undead laughed him off. "I know what you are going to ask. Every newcomer asks the same thing. Why am I so happy? Carefree? It's really simple. Just stop fighting. Accept your fate and be happy." The undead shrugged.

Madan's frustration was palpable. "Accept our fate? Just like that? You expect us to just give up and live in this... this prison?"

Shayen's expression softened slightly, his gaze becoming more reflective. "I understand your anger and your desire to fight. Believe me, I was the same when I first arrived here. But over time, you'll see that anger and desperation only drain you. There's a certain freedom in acceptance, in making the best of the situation you're in."

"You've been here for a long time, then. Have you never tried to escape? To find a way out?"

Shayen let out a hollow laugh, the sound echoing strangely from his skeletal form. "Tried? Oh, I've tried more times than I can count. I've plotted, I've fought, I've schemed with others. But the truth is, this place, this 'prison,' is more complex and powerful than you can imagine. The Geliza Salamander's magic binds us here in ways that are difficult to comprehend, let alone overcome."

Rey, still trying to process everything, asked, "So, what? We just live out our days here? Make peace with never seeing our homes again?"

Shayen shrugged. "Give it time. You will be fine. And when you make peace with it, you can see the true beauty of this place, he pointed to a group of nymphs walking in front of them. They were young seductive women dressed in fine clothes.

Now that they observed this city sort of establishment for a while they could see many nymphs walking around, some with men and some without. The overall atmosphere was boisterous with many drinking liquor openly and enjoying the company of others. It was a lively scene, almost the same as any street of Nymphomania, except that this city was a bit less classy and more openly profane.

"Come. Let me give you guys a tour of the place. It's been a while since I spoke to a new face. Ba ha ha!"

The group silently followed around the undead and really the place was just like any other town or city. There were restaurants, sparring regions, brothels, smithies, and the list went on. However, the glaring fact stood out soon enough. Everyone here was pretty low-level. Almost all of them belong to the awakened category. There were even a few unawakened ones with levels less than 100 but most were well into the 500s.

Of course, there was also another glaring fact. Everyone here was a nobody. Liam observed a few fights in the sparring arena and they were nothing to write home about. The whole place reeked of mediocrity.

The undead continued introducing them to various places and apparently, the world inside the beast even had special areas that had rich elemental affinity or other kinds of affinity.

"All in all this is not a bad place to live. I will let you guys have some privacy. Come find me in the three mugs tavern if you have more questions." Shayen waved them goodbye and left.

Almost immediately, Rey and Madan, even Lan Deming turned to look at Liam with dread in their eyes. "Please bro, tell me you have a way to get the hell out of this place. Can you do something to this guy's soul? Did you get something useful from the Spire that you can use?"

Liam remained silent for a while and then sighed. "Maybe."

Chapter 1329 Where is my master?

Liam did not linger around in the city anymore. After Shayen left, Rey, Madan, and Lan Deming split up to gather more information and meanwhile, Liam started heading back to a particular spot he had come across, one that was relatively rich in nether.

It was a small cave inside a mountain and the weird part was both outside the mountain and in the surrounding area there was simply no nether in the air. The energy-rich pocket was unnaturally present in just that single spot.

Liam's mind wandered as to why this could be but he quickly refocussed. While he had a lot of questions and confusions in his head, starting with why the hell were they in this big mess, he knew that there was really only one thing that truly bugged him.

His failure with the Myriad Constellations Technique.

Perhaps if he said this out loud to Rey, Madan, or Lan Deming, they might want to kill him but right at this moment, he couldn't care less about being imprisoned in this weird creature. He was still hung up on his abrupt departure from the Spire. He did not expect to be kicked out like this.

Liam settled in the cave cross-legged and cleared his mind. He just needed a quiet place to train and this place was just as good as anything else. For now. He then started with the technique, taking it from the top, and attempting the whole thing all over again.

***

"Ah. we are here. Back home again. But... I have to tell you my Lord, I am already starting to miss Nymphomania. There is something in the air in that place that makes it so special. Maybe we should make this a yearly tradition, us five men heading over and relaxing a bit, what do you-" Eldrin suddenly stopped talking. "Huh?" He turned around to see that for some reason he was standing all alone by himself. Wait, no that's not right. He could detect... He looked down to see an angry fox face glaring at him. "Where is my master?"

"Ummm..."

"I am asking you, you long-eared leech."

"Ah..." Eldrin was speechless. He looked at the angry fox and the other three legendary beasts which had silently popped up near him. However, there was no sign of any human being. What the hell was going on?

Wait, even the two nymphs whom he had brought here were missing. Fuck! Where did they all go? If something happened to them, then why was he alone fine? Fuck! Fuck! He had a feeling he was going to be in deep shit real soon.

"I don't know! I really don't know!" Eldrin threw his hands up in the air and started explaining in a panic. "We all teleported here together. I didn't do anything. I swear. They should be here. I can't think of any reason why they are not. Maybe they were teleported somewhere closeby?"

Eldrin's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation, his heart pounding in his chest. The legendary beasts stared at him, their gazes varying from confused to outright threatening. He knew he had to act fast or risk becoming the target of their frustration and anger.

"Listen, I... I'll try to locate them. Maybe there's some interference or... or something went wrong with the teleportation. It's unusual, but not unheard of in the myriad realms," Eldrin stuttered, trying to sound confident despite the fear gnawing at him.

The fox, still glaring, finally spoke, "Do it quickly. If harm has come to my master because of your incompetence, I will make you regret being born."

Eldrin nodded hastily, sweat beading on his forehead. He quickly started to cast a series of detection spells. Obviously, it was only natural for him to have stuck several markers of the group. Of course, for the safety of the group and now it was going to be put to good use.

However, no matter how much he tried, nothing was working. "I am trying. I am trying my very best." The elf shouted pitifully but it was clear that he was failing. Luna snapped at him with a low growl and then approached him in an exceedingly obvious threatening manner.

"Where is my master?" She asked again and the elf could only look on helplessly. His usual bag of tricks and smooth talk seemed worthless in the face of the genuine distress and danger he now faced. Eldrin had always prided himself on his ability to navigate through tricky situations with ease, but this was something entirely different.

"I... I really don't know," Eldrin admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I promise, I will find out. I'll do whatever it takes."

The next second the fox blurred and she was no longer there. Along with her, the other legendary beasts were all gone, leaving behind only Eldrin in the middle of nowhere.

"Hey, wait." The elf called out but it was useless. The fox had already teleported. "Fuck. I was going to say I could still faintly feel one of the others..." He scratched his head and then hurriedly ran in the direction where he felt the marker.

"Dante was it? The alchemy slave?" Eldrin knew that this was in no way going to help the situation but there was nothing else he could do. The fact that none of his tags worked meant that Liam and the others never got teleported in the first place.

Moreover, the two nymphs were also missing. They had promised him big things if he got them out of that world and now they were also gone. What the hell was happening?

Eldrin felt cold sweat drench his back as he thought about all the people he had to answer. Especially the two wives. Fuck. They were going to skin him alive and then kill him, that is if the fox did not kill him first. Why did all bad things have to happen to him?

Eldrin smiled bitterly. The worst part was that... he was pretty sure wherever that bastard was he was lucking it out right this instance. "Liam, where the hell are you?"

Chapter 1330 Something in the air

Liam inhaled and let out a deep breath. Another failure but that was okay. His gaze flickered to the big space sprawled in front of him. There, thousands of soul minions were seated in a similar meditative pose with eyes closed, every single one of them giving full concentration to their task at hand. AKA to strengthen their souls.

Liam had to admit. He had kind of cheated in this test of sorts but he did not regret it. The Myriad Constellations Technique was a behemothian beast that he had underestimated greatly. To think that he could master it in a mere day was foolish. It did not matter if he was a soulmancer or how much experience he had with souls, he simply couldn't make decent progress in the technique fast enough. It was too hard. Of course, that was not all the tricks he had up his sleeves.

Liam had been breaking his head over how to crack the technique when he decided he needed more heads breaking over this problem. That was when he involved his soul minions. Obviously, they wouldn't be able to succeed where he failed but they made copious mistakes. Mistakes that he learned plenty from. And within just a few days, the collective hard work yielded bountiful results.

Liam smiled in satisfaction as he closed his eyes and looked at the five shimmering runes that now lay stably in his soul space. About half of his dispersed and shredded soul energy was already tied back together in the form of runes of power and they now once again were under his control.

Liam felt a lot better as the pain that had been plaguing him ever since he injured his soul was finally starting to subside. As an added bonus his mental energy was full and brimming thanks to this. He felt rejuvenated and replenished and his capacity to control his soul wisps further increased because of this. This in turn bumped up his speed as he worked to form the next rune of power. He could feel it. Soon he would be able to get the first constellation in his grasp.

However, he was not in a rush to reach that goal. This was because while practicing the soul-strengthening technique, he finally managed to get a hint on the soul-healing method he was personally tinkering with.

This was how he had healed his soul back in the tutorial and now after some adjustments, he was very close to further healing and replenishing his soul energy that was vastly depleted.

He was not quite there yet but hey, he had many many souls that he could experiment with and a high-tier soul cultivation technique in his hand. This was just the first constellation technique after all perhaps the deeper he went he would gain further understanding of the method.

Unfortunately, he simply couldn't do as he pleased and continued to forever perfect everything in his soul space. The clock was ticking. Not just for completely mastering the first stage of the technique but also for the earth's complete integration.

Within the next five years, he had to return to his full strength and then some more to truly feel confident about their prospects. Of course, there was also the matter of getting out of the beast they were currently stuck inside.

A vicious smile appeared on Liam's face which carried all of his hatred and frustration that he had bottled up within him. He knew who they were, all the enemies who wanted him dead or as a slave. Starting with this god-damn beast he was going to take care of each and every one of them. He was going to use this beast as a stepping stone and become even stronger. It invited him into its body and now it had to pay the price.

He did not let the others know just yet but he could feel it. He could clearly sense the unfathomably powerful soul of the beast they were currently residing within.

In fact, he was pretty sure that this whole world was a space created within the soul pocket of the beast as he could sense the threads of soul energy swirling around, knitting the very fabric of their environment.

How powerful would a beast need to be in order to have a soul such as this? He had no intentions of fighting such a thing or even confronting it at least directly. That would be a fool's errand. Instead, he had other plans.

He needed to somehow corrupt or at least freeze the soul of this monstrosity of a beast in order to escape. That was if he only needed to escape but why not take something when leaving?

While this beast was powerful it was in no way an overpowered being like that strange man he had met in the Spire. Heck, it was a coward who only ate awakened beings without any background.

Chances were that if he managed to get out of here, it was not going to come after him. Even if it wanted to, it could get in the long queue of everyone else who wanted him dead first.

Liam knew he was probably once again going to be biting more than he could chew but how could he let this golden opportunity slip by? There was soul energy floating all around him. He was definitely going to get himself a good helping of the meal.

Right now he could at most make ten runes of power in his current state which would make for a pitiful first constellation. But if he could somehow siphon the soul energy and bump this up to a hundred runes of power which is what an average elite of the myriad realms would possess, then his strength would skyrocket, catapulting him into the realms of power he had only dared to dream of before.

And this was just the first constellation. The technique hinted that there were more constellations that harnessed the deeper layers of the soul.

Liam's plan was ambitious, to say the least. The beast's soul was a vast, dangerous expanse, filled with energy so potent it could obliterate him with a mere flicker. Yet, within this peril lay an unprecedented opportunity for growth and strength. If he could harness even a fraction of this power, the benefits would be immense.

To achieve this, Liam needed to extend the scope of his soul manipulation abilities. He would have to delve deeper into the study of soul energy, exploring new methods and techniques that could allow him to carefully extract and assimilate the beast's soul energy without alerting it to his actions.

He definitely had his work cut out for him and for the next five years, he was going to be really busy. Letting out a deep breath, he took out a soul-capturing bead. It was time to start forging again.

Chapter 1331 It's been a while

Liam yawned lazily as he walked out of the cave. "How long was I asleep this time?" He chuckled. Seeing him finally exit his closed-door meditation, two women rushed towards him.

"My Lord, you have been asleep for an entire month." One of the women answered.

These two women were the same nymphs who had teleported with the group back in Nymphomania, Eldrin's acquaintances. When Rey and Madan had run into them in a questionable part of the city, they brought them back here after paying a hefty sum.

Apparently, the two of them were bred for prostitution and were already marked to be taken to one of the many pleasure palaces back in Nymphomania. But they had tried to escape that fate and fell into an even worse one.

Rey and the others simply rescued them out of sheer boredom and also a little curiosity about why the crafty elf was involved with them. However, Liam did not care.

Liam nodded at the two as he continued walking deeper into the forest. Not long after he came across a pond and he immediately dove into it, letting out a relaxed deep breath.

He was finally done.

He had a goal and he had finally achieved it. The past five years had gone by in a blur, but it was all worth it. Though he took a really big detour on the way to his goal, he had arrived there in one piece.

He was now done with the first constellation of the Myriad Constellations Technique, a feat that initially seemed insurmountable. The relief and satisfaction that coursed through him were indescribable. His soul was finally whole again.

How long had it been since he felt like this?

The strength a complete soul gives to a person was simply unparalleled. The fragmented, weakened state he had endured for so long had been a constant drain, a reminder of his vulnerabilities.

But now, with the first constellation of the Myriad Constellations Technique firmly established within him, Liam felt as if a heavy shackle had been unlocked and thrown away.

His soul now thrummed with a vitality that resonated with the very essence of his being, infusing him with a sense of power and potential he had almost forgotten was possible.

After all, he hadn't formed the first constellation with just ten runes of power. Liam closed his eyes to focus on his soul space one more time. Immediately, a bright glow emanated from within, illuminating the very essence of his being.

There, in the heart of his soul space, sat his first constellation dazzlingly and dozens of runes brightly shone within this constellation, each rune pulsating with a strength that far exceeded his expectations.

In total, there were about three hundred fifty three runes, a number that far surpassed what even the elite geniuses of the myriad realms who had tried to master this technique before Liam had achieved.

In the beginning, Liam only intended to push himself to fifty runes from his measly ten runes but as he started siphoning the soul energy little by little from the giant lizard creature, it was extremely addicting and he couldn't stop it.

His broken, shredded, and injured soul acted like a certain greedy little fox and continued inhaling all of the energy that it could get its hands on.

The giant beast also didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Perhaps because it was just a minute fraction of the total soul energy it was harvesting, it did not care? Nevertheless, Liam continued pushing his limits and continued to siphon little by little until he reached his very limit.

At that point, he simply knew it. If he pushed things even a little more the entire thing would collapse. As it was, he was already straining his mind to the maximum. The last thing he wanted to do was break himself mentally.

So he relented at three hundred fifty three and pulled all the runes together, activating the technique to stitch them all into a constellation.

The process was arduous, requiring immense concentration and willpower to withstand the pressure it exerted on the soul. Each rune had to be perfectly aligned and synchronized with the others, creating a harmonious flow of soul energy throughout the constellation.

The moment the constellation was fully formed, a profound sense of completion had washed over Liam.

Liam was surprised to see that his first constellation was the symbol of infinity. Well, it could also be the number eight. He had yet to figure out what was the meaning behind it and its significance. However, the power that he felt was real.

Not only did it heal the lingering damage to his soul, but it also enhanced his overall capabilities. His senses were sharper, his mind clearer, and his control over his dao seeds and mana had improved dramatically.

Liam took his time and relaxed in the pond giving himself a much-deserved break. He only emerged from the pond several hours later, ready for the next step. He had accomplished what he set out for and now it was time to go home.

But before that, there was one small matter he had to take care of that he had been putting away for a long time now. However, he no longer felt the need to postpone it anymore as his soul was whole again. Not to mention his soul strength explosively higher than it had ever been before.

Liam took another deep breath before dismissing all the soul minions he had stationed in different areas spread out all around him. For what he was about to do, he needed his full strength.

He then took out a soul bead that he had specially saved until now. Without further delay, Liam willed for the soul inside to seep out.

"Crawford, it's been a while," Liam muttered as he gripped the ball of soul in his hand. It was a powerful soul that tried to lash out against him but all of its struggles were for naught as the soul was no match for the current him.