Cultivating in Honkai!

Chapter 426: 22 v 5

Only two Aeons are left unattended—Destruction and Nihility.Based on hatred alone, Nihility takes the top spot for Shi Tian. Sure, THEY did not do anything intentionally. THEIR existence was akin to a star that sucks in everyone to THEIR orbit. Despite doing literally , THEY cause countless troubles… and painful partings.

For Shi Tian who vowed to write the ending in his heart, IX is his antithesis. One of the few beings who are openly against his purpose—even if not intentionally.

Still…

His golden pupils turned and looked at Destruction. THEIR fragments manifested in the form of a golden drop of blood. At the instant he laid his eyes over, the figure of Nanook appeared in his mind. His surroundings were no longer the Zixiao Palace’s interior, but the vast void. Countless magma rocks orbitted within the nearby asteroid belt.

Unsurprisingly, the center of it all was Destruction. The Aeon of Destruction. The Ruin Author… and the Blemished One.

Born out of Propagation’s calamitious advent, Nanook is the youngest Aeon up to date. THEY believed that the life which emerged from the vast universe is a mistake. A coincidental possibility that came to true, one that continued to harm the universe itself. Hence, THEY believed in Destruction. 

To remove the cancer of the universe, it is the only way.

Shi Tian was more than familiar with Nanook. After all, THEY are the source of the Chrysos Heirs’ golden blood. It served as the mark of Destruction. An indicator that it is the Prime Mover of Life.

Unfortunately, it will never come to pass. Not in the original… and certainly not now.

‘What is the answer that you seek?’

Shi Tian knew full well it wasn’t just him who analyzed the other party. Nanook has set his sights upon him too. That gaze was filled with a heart-stopping sensation. It is not just a difference between “status”. THEIR existence carries a weight that shakes the universe. THEY are restricted by the universe, as much as THEIR power originated from it.

‘Half-step Tribulation Transcendence Realm.’

Kiana’s words resurfaced in his mind. That was the equivalent spirit vein she received when she tried to convert a part of the imaginary tree into spiritual qi. Otto’s feat of the Imaginary Tree gave rise to that opportunity.

Even in the vast universe, only a few managed to accomplish what he did. 

‘If the world imparts a part of it to THEM… the Aeons, then there is a way.’

The power of surged forth, breaking him free of Destruction’s influence. 

The space inside the Palace shook once. Then twice. Every undulation of the golden drop of blood seemed to have drawn Destruction closer to these two universes. Unfortunately, both are beyond Nanook’s capacity, more so when THEY came with nothing but a fragment of THEIR might.

“Do it.”

Hearing Shi Tian’s words, the others with free hands knew what they should do. Kiana led the charge, still remaining in her seat.

Three phantoms came out of her true body. Each of them bore a hundred percent similarity to Kiana, just that they wore different clothing.

The first Kiana was the simple Tuna. Her long white hair was braided into fish scales. She wore a white-orange jacket atop her battlesuit. A pair of guns appeared in her hands.

“This monster’s uber strange…”

The second Kiana wore the Flamescion battlesuit. Her long white hair was styled into a ponytail. A large crimson-black greatsword appeared in her grasp. The look she gave the first Kiana was that of embarrassment.

“Am I like this before?”

“Always has been.”

The third Kiana wore her current Finality battlesuit. Her eyes resembled that of a star, captivating anyone who has seen it. Her response made the second Kiana speechless, though she could not rebut.

The first two Kianas were startled when they saw flames envelop their weapons. Their strength was amplified hundreds of times. The past, present, and future intersected at this moment. Kiana’s power over Finality granted her not just status and insights over void, but also time. The Dao of Endless Void pertains to space and time alike!

Coupled with the simulated Path of Destruction, her power went further. The three projections she made possessed the pinnacle of her power as an immortal cultivator. It was akin to getting three more fighting forces out of thin air.

The Past Kiana brandished her guns as she made her way amidst this large palace. The Present Kiana held her greatsword, its tip pointing to the ground. The Future Kiana fiddled with the musket in her right hand, aiming straight at the golden blood. Finally, the true Kiana opened her eyes. Ripples of white light extended from beneath her, enveloping both Shi Tian’s ‘small universe’ and the Zixiao Palace’s ‘inner universe’. The golden blood grew faint with every wave of the white light. Though the changes were faint, it never stopped.

It wasn’t just Destruction who felt the pressure; everyone else did. Once again, they witnessed the prowess of the only successful embrace of the Cocoon—the Moon Goddess who held back the Aeons’ peering gazes all by herself!

“Competitive as always…”

Bronya’s silver irises gave Kiana a somewhat helpless look. The Tuna’s fighting spirit was lit high up in the sky.

“I can’t lag too far behind.”

The familiar palm-sized appeared atop her palm. The simulated Primum Mobile she possessed was Erudition. Her mind acted fast and thought of the most optimal way to stack all her available powers. Then she recalled the time she breached Otto’s barrier.  She used the —a key component for the Selene ship—and turned them into a weapon array. Firing them off at once converted honkai energy into heat energy, causing the barrier to collapse. 

If she could use the same principle towards Nanook’s fragment, but exchange honkai energy with path energy, she be able to pull it off. 

Theresa and Himeko soon joined in the fray who jumped Nanook. The former bore the Primum Mobile of Preservation. The latter held an eighth-grade Dao Artifact in the shape of a tower pagoda. A bright blue flame rested on its highest level, emitting searing hot and chilling cold. It was the ‘Thousand Flame Heavenly Tower’. Its sole purpose is to act as a remote control for the eighth-grade Dao Flames contained inside.

With four out of five Aeons held back, Shi Tian finally set his gaze back to Nihility.

‘Half-step Dao Integration Realm…’