Chapter 118: New Problems

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In the minor dimension, not far from the herb garden, a charred figure lay in a crater 50 times its size.

The crater was wide, but not very deep.

At the center of it, the charred figure that lay without showing any signs of life suddenly emitted a muffled groan from its mouth,

while its almost unrecognizable forehead began to twitch, and faint movements could be seen from its closed eyelids.

Slowly, the charred figure began to regain consciousness, though with difficulty, as it opened its eyes.

His mind was still foggy, so he didn't notice much, but as he began to recover some clarity, a wave of pain rushed from his entire body to his head, almost making him lose consciousness again.

"Argh!"

With a loud groan of pain, due to the numerous signals coming from every pain receptor in his body, the charred figure convulsed slightly.

With extreme effort, he tried to move his limbs in an attempt to get up, but soon discovered that was a bad idea.

The moment he even tried to move his arms, another wave of pain hit him, immediately halting any intention he had of moving his body.

With his mind still a bit dazed and confused, he tried to figure out what had happened.

'Why can't I move?' he wondered as he worked to think faster, trying to recall what had happened.

Finally, his mind stabilized somewhat, and a flow of memories began to pour into his head.

'Ah, right, I was about to be swallowed by that glowing sphere,' he thought, gradually remembering what had occurred.

He recalled that just as the creature inside the glowing mass was charging at him, a strange golden aura appeared, and then he lost consciousness.

'Whatever it was, it seems to have saved me,' he thought, though he still didn't understand why his physical body was in its current condition.

Unbeknownst to Ethan, while he was being sucked into the glowing mass, not only had his sea of consciousness been invaded and started to collapse,

but his body was also enveloped by that blue-greenish cloud, which attempted to devour him both from outside and within.

Just as he was wondering what to do now that he couldn't move, Bai Yu's voice came from his head.

'You should take a look at your sea of consciousness,' she said, her voice clearly not as calm as usual.

Ethan, with his mind still somewhat confused by his current situation,

noticed that even focusing enough to enter his sea of consciousness was difficult and no longer as instantaneous as before.

With some effort, he managed to stabilize his thoughts to some degree and transfer his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.

Within seconds, particles gathered, and an ethereal Ethan appeared in the place.

Unlike before, here he could move his body, which was natural since he was inside his own mind, but it was still a relief for him, as he wondered how long it would take for him to recover from his injuries.

He thought about asking Bai Yu for help to heal himself later.

With his current cultivation, even she had gained some freedom with her manifestation of the soul in the external world, and although she was still limited in what she could do, it was enough to heal him.

Putting that matter aside for now, he looked around to see where he was, and as soon as he turned slightly to the side, he had yet another shock.

"W-what the hell happened here..."

Before him was the chaotic scene of his sea of consciousness.

Wherever he looked, there were small cracks, both above and below him, floating in the air as if they were tearing reality itself.

If it weren't for the fact that these cracks seemed to be slightly healing themselves, Ethan would have wondered what would become of his sea of consciousness.

"It seems my mind isn't stable for a reason," he thought, realizing that this was likely why he still had a slight headache.

After all, he was in his sea of consciousness, and seeing it damaged, he could tell it was the cause of his somewhat unstable mind.

At least now he had solved one mystery.

That said, he had noticed the small traces of blackish-green mist, similar to what he had seen in that strange place, and he wondered how it had gotten inside.

He was starting to think this was also the cause of his damaged body.

He looked around a bit more and finally managed to spot the figure of Bai Yu a few meters away.

But she wasn't alone.

In front of her, just a little farther ahead, floated a glowing sphere the size of a basketball.

The outer layer of the luminous sphere was slightly transparent, so if one looked closely, a faint elongated shadow could be seen moving inside.

At the sight of this glowing sphere, Ethan almost panicked.

"T-that thing...

How is it here?"

Bai Yu, who had been looking at the sphere in front of her with a complex expression,

noticed his arrival and turned to him with a look that seemed to ask for answers.

Ethan, seeing her, gave her a similar look.

For a moment, neither said anything.

Eventually, he approached and stood beside her, examining the sphere closely.

He could tell it was the same one he had seen in that place he had been taken to earlier.

Shifting his gaze from the sphere beside him, he asked:

"Was it the amphora that brought it here?"

The only explanation he could think of for how this thing was here was the amphora.

He hadn't done anything, and Bai Yu, with her current strength, was equally powerless, so that left only the amphora.

It wasn't the first time it had done something like this, and from the golden aura that had enveloped him earlier and then shot at the creature that was charging at him,

he could only think that the Amphora of the Seven Sages was involved.

And it seemed he was right.

Bai Yu nodded slightly, and for a moment, she didn't say anything while looking at the glowing sphere with a complicated expression.

Ethan noticed this and wondered what was going through her mind.

Just as he was about to ask her if she knew anything about the creature inside the sphere, she spoke:

"How did you manage to form a bond with it? No... how did you even find it?" she asked.

Ethan was now sure that she knew something about this creature and honestly told her what had happened.

Hearing him, Bai Yu gave him a strange look as she said:

"You're saying the bond already existed when you sensed your soul?"

Ethan nodded in response and waited for her to continue.

Bai Yu seemed even more confused, but from what she had heard, Ethan was as well, so she said:

"I can't tell you why the bond already existed, but as I mentioned before,

from the fourth stage onward, humans need to strengthen their soul through the process of creating and subsequently assimilating a spiritual beast.

Most people do it this way, as far as I know, but it's not the only way to obtain a spiritual beast.

As you're aware, there are various realms beyond the one we know, and separate dimensions are one of those realms.

Spiritual creatures also have their own realm.

If a cultivator struggles to create their own spiritual beast, or if they desire a specific one, they can try summoning one from that realm.

Unlike before, where the soul merges, in this case, the summoned beast will create a spiritual bond with the person who called it,

and help them cultivate the later stages in exchange for something, which is decided between the cultivator and the summoned spiritual beast.

The reason many avoid using this method is that the chances of a beast accepting the invitation are not very high, and 70% of the time, the summoning fails.

And even if it doesn't, it's not guaranteed that the beast will agree to form a bond once it has interacted with the person who summoned it." She paused for a few seconds and looked at the glowing sphere.

"I have no idea what kind of creature is inside there, but I can tell it's different from normal spiritual creatures.

You see, when one being encounters another of the same species but with a stronger bloodline, it feels an instinctive sense of oppression.

At this moment, the creature in this cocoon of light is emitting a form of oppression on my bloodline,

which is hard to believe since the bloodline of the Celestial Dragons is one of the purest and strongest in the dragon race."

She said this, making Ethan understand the reason behind her complicated expression.

"Wait, but then why don't I feel it?"

Ethan had assimilated Bai Yu's blood essence, which had partially transformed his bloodline into that of the dragon race.

If what she said was true, then why wasn't he feeling any pressure from the creature in front of him?

"The reason you're not feeling any pressure is probably linked to the amphora. S~eaʀᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It not only helps you strengthen your soul but also protects it from attacks like the one you faced today," she explained.

Ethan now remembered that the amphora had this ability.

"If the amphora protects my soul, then wouldn't it be possible for me to advance to the spiritual realm without needing to first assimilate a spiritual beast?"

he asked, recalling that his soul strength had indeed been strengthened every time he leveled up.

Though it happened in small amounts, it was still a consistent improvement.

"There is a possibility, but it's slim.

Your soul is definitely much stronger than that of a normal human,

but it's still a bit too weak to try breaking through without risking injury.

That's why I suggested going with the standard method," she said, as she once again turned her attention to the cocoon of light in front of them.

'Although, with the current situation, I'm not sure how things will unfold in the future.'