tLong Tao's figure was starting to extrude a considerable amount of pressure to the surrounding. Veins could be seen popping out of the face of Long Tao as he continuously practiced the 'Heaven Pestle art.'
He was amid the 9th grind, but the pain was unbearable.
One should know that soul is the most crucial element of existence in the world, and once Long Tao's soul failed to reform, his will is going to perish from the world altogether.
Even if minimal harm came into being to the soul of Long Tao, it's going to turn him either mad and useless or highly limit his martial path.
The grinding continued, and as it approached its last stages, the pain started becoming somewhat unbearable.
One could say that this was the reason, Long Tao could quickly gather loads of soul Qi, never having a scarcity or need of any soul Qi infused material.
As the process continued, the runes continued to provide a vast amount of Soul Qi, and finally, the last stage of the Heaven Pestle formula was reached. Long Tao's back was covered with sweat at this time. He just came out of death's mouth.
Finally, the ground soul, started coagulating, as Long Tao continued to chant the mantra, and a towering transparent figure was created in the soul world of Long Tao.
It was his soul avatar. Finally, Long Tao heaved a sigh of relief. He eventually completed the last stage of Heavenly Pestle Formula. The nine grinds were complete, transforming Long Tao's Soul figure to that of a soul avatar.
Finally, he could step on to the Qi child realm, stepping into the way of martial arts.
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As the final stage of soul training concluded, inside the cave, a faint glow started permeating the whole space. The locket that Long Tao has worn since he was a child started showing unusual activity. It started vibrating and glowing.
Suddenly it floated in the air, and a light beam was projected onto Long Tao's body as he was absorbed within. The figure vanished with nothing remaining inside the cave.
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Seven months have passed since the assassination attempt on his life. He has returned, got a massive fortune in the shape of the three sets of extraordinary manuals present in his memories, which led him to practice and set an incredible foundation.
It was a miracle within itself. Long Tao could decimate the wolf King if they fought now.
Long Tao decides first to take a short break, resting and roaming outside, contending against powerful 2nd level beasts in the forest and estimating his real combat prowess.
Only after that would he start training in the new set of techniques that he will obtain from the collection of manual presents inside his mind. As he gradually opened his eyes, a shocking scene appeared.
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A majestic mansion, giving away a feeling of an ancient and powerful vibe, was present amid a vast space of land.
It was floating mid-air, with a peculiar gateway present Infront, dragon, and phoenix being carved on it. There were multiple statues present in the vicinity of the mansion; there were huge snakes, figures of humans carrying a variety of weapons, and so on. One could say that there was an army of stone statue present.
Standing outside, one couldn't even see what's going inside the boundaries. There was a majestic hoarding spelling "Ancient manor." Besides the edges, one could see a multitude of stretches of water, with different properties.
One was sparkling clear and giving up a feeling of freshness. There was another stretch of liquid; what looked like Lava, another for clear blue water, then there was a pool with lightning sparking all over it.
There was a substantial rugged path of land with multiple sizes of boulders present, and there was a forest present nearby. Also, one could see a tiny patch of land towards another side, covered all around with two gigantic trees and many different types of herbs, it stated herb garden, on the board outside this plot of land.
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Long Tao was shocked by the view in front of him. His first reaction was that he was in some sort of dream or illusion his mind created. He pinched his shoulders, applying a substantial amount of strength, and the result was a sharp pain he felt near his shoulder.
So, this was all real. Long Tao started to panic. How did he appear in this world? This majestic world was out of his imagination level. Long Tao was shocked to see how vast and magical.
He had never heard of a piece of land being able to float in the air. All he could imagine was that this is someplace in a different dimension, and he was transported here by mistake.
He was scared about being stuck in this world, not knowing how to return. He started moving aimlessly and was slowly getting more and more bewildered. As despair reached its peak in Long Tao's mind, he tried to calm himself more and more.
He sat down, took a deep breath, and correctly re-positioned his thought. He has seen so many miracles happening, his life getting saved due to some unknown phenomena, him getting three sets of what would be called immortal/divine manuals which provided him with heaven shaking strength.
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As he finally calmed himself down and started getting his thoughts towards how to get out of this world, he heard a mysterious voice in his ears.
"You are at this moment given an allowance to enter the world of the CRIMSON LORD, the last will of ancients. "Long Tao was taken aback after hearing the voice; he started looking all around to see where the sound was originating from. But even after a long inspection, he was not able to find a single living being around him.
He started to think that this might be a slight delusion his mind has created.
" I am the keeper of this world, you idiot. Stop inspecting aimless around you. I didn't expect the visitor this time would be this weak in his mind. It is a huge joke".
" Maybe if you were not playing around and directly spoke to me, I would not have been in such a surprise." "trying to be cocky in front of me, we will see how you play around in the upcoming set of events, as I torture you and make you go through hell."
" I will not bother arguing with you. You are to take the upcoming test that I will, at this moment, assign to you. The current you is not worthy of me talking to. If you can remain alive, we shall see talk further".
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The scenery in front of Long Tao changed immediately. He was currently in what could only be described as a large hall. In front of him was standing a singular, humanly figure, but as Long Tao was gradually nearing it, he was shocked; this was not a human.
"This test will have three-stage; a test of will, a test of soul, and a test of strength. Beginning with the test of will," without even a warning, Long Tao's body was lifted, transported to another room.
One could see a pool of brimming, shining red liquid present in the middle of the room. Long Tao was directly thrown into it. The liquid started coming in contact with this body; he started feeling the temperature around rising.
The liquid started getting absorbed into Long Tao's body, and his body was again being restructured and crushed by some force, a pain in the similar category of when he practiced the forging art started occurring in his mind. "Let see how long you can last, boy. The longer you last more will be the benefit you obtain from the restructuring. "the puppet smirked and vanished from sight.
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"How long do you think this boy could last." "I expected some amount of perseverance, at least. Otherwise, this will simply be a waste of time. As per the gradation, being able to last for 7-10 hours is considered a pass, being able to last for one day is considered an average talent. If he lasts up to 1-3 days, his talent can be said to be above average, 3-7days could be said to be a good talent. From 7-10, it would be a genius; 10-13 days would be the limit of real heaven chosen. The highest record until now is that of 16 days, a demon level character with unseen talent in a martial way."
Hours passed, and gradually time came to the end of a day "at least he is an above-average talent. Otherwise, I would have already thrown him out of the realm and vanished to find another inheritor." The puppet smirked again.
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Soon the second day ended too, and Long Tao didn't even know. He had already left all other thoughts to a side and concentrated on the process going on.
The tempering he gained from the torturous art of 12 forges was coming into play now. Soon the 3-day passed, bright light could be seen in the eyes of the puppet, sighing in relief. "At least he is something worth nurturing, "but when he saw the calm face of Long Tao, he had an unknown feeling.
"Let see how long you can persist." He honestly expected Long Tao to be one of heaven's chosen ones. He closed the view and retired into nothingness. A figure still sat amid the pool and the liquid within gushing in and out of his body-tempering and purifying it.