Patterns drawn by a cultivator's Divine Sense left a unique signature, so when push came to shove, name-faking wasn't of much use. However, on the one hand, Harun didn't want to draw attention to the Birusk name already. On the other hand, he did plan to create a Treasure Hunting Gang as a front to establish a reputation in the cultivation world, have access to better potential disciples, and prepare some cannon fodders for when the time came to explore Ancient Inheritance Grounds.
Unlike their modern counterparts, Ancient Inheritance Grounds were perverse killing fields where one in ten thousand lost their lives to kiss baubles. Their level requirements didn't always reflect the dangers insideNow,, but at the same time, a low-level Ancient Ground could, in rare cases, hide startling rewards. With one glance at the silver card, the merchants took mental notes of Harun's information.
"We've recorded Your Lordship's information, and will handle all we need to. I'm assuming Your Lordship's Treasure Hunting Gang is a new force? Once you reach the Dark Stone Capital, you can officially register it to receive a temporary 30% discount on Association goods, on top of the eternal 20% your Silver Pass grants you. From territories to treasures, from ingredients to tame mounts, the association has no shortage of goods. We can also help you set up a disciple recruitment ceremony," the merchants said with a polite bow. From now on, their survival was tied to Harun's support, and they would naturally fight to provide him the best benefits possible.
"Too soon," Harun denied their offer. Even for a front faction, reputation was a must. To recruit useful experts, he had to spread "Lord Revelation's" name first. The battle with the Soul Refining Hall would handle that. After giving them a few more instructions, Harun sent the merchants off, and alongside Jiyan, returned to the carriage.
"Still thinking about the Noxious Flame World?" Jiyan asked as the driver resumed his job. While Harun didn't react or probe the matter, Jiyan knew that it didn't leave him indifferent, and could feel the emotions he kept suppressed underneath his jovial exterior.
"I'm just wondering, what's the use of resurrection? Who do we resurrect the dead for? Ourselves, obviously. Unless destroyed in body and soul, the dead will cross the reincarnation cycle, be reborn, and live another life. Their past self may miss us, but the future one has no link to us whatsoever? What gives us the right to rob that future and all its possibilities, just to heal the void they left behind? Is that not the epitome of selfishness?" Harun said in an absentminded tone.
As a cultivator of the Unyielding Path, should Harun reach the end of the Six Incarnations Bridge, he'd obtain Samsara Dominion, and with it, sovereignty over life, death, karma, causality and the reincarnation cycle. With such powers in hand, reconstructing the Noxious Flame World and resurrecting all those he held dear would pose no challenge. However, should he? Interfering with the natural order was no joke. The reincarnation cycle existed for a reason. If everyone started robbing it of its fuel, what would the consequences be?
This wasn't about right or wrong, but egotism, causality, and so many other variables Harun had to take into account. For those reasons, previously he merely wished to give his relatives flawless future lives. Now, however, hesitation crept in.
To such a question, Jiyan had no answer. Indeed, she too felt that resurrection was mostly the wish of the living. Souls unwilling to let go of their past lives still wandered the world. So why bother the ones that looked to the future?
But as the two seemed short of words, the system chimed in.
"Overthinking brats, selfishness is human nature. Who cares about order? Who claimed that the current one was correct and immutable? If you want something, grab it! If someone stands in your way, crush them! Everything is yours if you so desire, and all should bow or suffer the consequences. So what if you plunge the world into anarchy to achieve your aim? As long as you can gloat across eternity, all is worth it!"
Madness incarnate sang in Harun's mind. As if the Devil himself had replaced the system to lure Harun into its diabolic cradle. The words held a strange appeal, but shaking his head, Harun rejected them.
"Diabolism is a depressing road. I'd like to avoid being public enemy number one across eternity. 150 years was more than enough," Harun countered, but failed to sway the system.
"In the Ancestral Land, Unyielding Path cultivators are known as Tyrants. The road and goals may differ, but in the eyes of the many, you aren't much different from Devils. But so what if they want your head, when your might stands supreme? On the contrary, there is nothing more pleasurable than knowing they hate your guts, want to crush your skull, yet still grovel in complete humility. Make even destiny your bitch. And who cares about what you do? Are you not the Son of Heaven? How can such petty concerns apply to you and disturb your mind?" The system said in a bold and uncompromising tone.
But as its maniacal words spread, Harun recalled the figure of the black-robbed youth he saw in the stele. Curiosity flickered in his eyes, then vanished.
"But who is Heaven? Because sometimes it almost feels like I'm the Son of Hell," Harun asked after shifting his attention back to the system. Silence was its only answer. Harun had expected such a reaction and only wished to make it shut up. But if before he still had some doubts, the immediate silence proved that the system was fully aware of his eyes' origins.
Ignoring it, Harun shifted his gaze toward Jiyan, who had joined her hands in a meditation sign and shut her eyes. Five blue light orbs hovered before her, each housing a different species of butterfly. To break through to the Tri-Yin-Core stage, Jiyan had to start refining the souls of toxic creatures. Harun prepared and granted her a sack of various beasts, mostly butterfly species and some other stunning insects.
After all, not everyone could be like him, and refine spiders or toads with a smile. The butterflies broke into light particles, leaving behind translucent versions of their mortal shells that dove into Jiyan's abdomen, where they joined to form a rice-size blue orb. Each of the Yin Cores required 120 Toxic Beast Souls. Foundation and talent determined refinement speed, and after each session, a long cooldown followed. Fortunately, the system provided sect wonders. Otherwise, Harun couldn't afford the cost.
Closing his eyes, he too fell into meditation, nurturing the Attachment and Karmic Link to his devotees. Their joys, thoughts, challenges and regrets welled up in his soul. Over 300 names he knew through and through. Golden smoke surged as his Spiritual Incense poured forth, full of miraculous powers.
Splitting the remaining trip time between banter and cultivation, the pair passed the rest of the trip without hurdles, and reached the Dark Stone Capital's 120 meters tall, jet-black gates.