Half a day later, once Noire's expression softened and his killing intent dimmed down, Arima and the rest finally let go of the stone which pressed down onto their hearts.
Of course, they're aware this didn't mean Noire has forgiven anyone, it simply means they have increased their chances to solicit the relationship with him even if by one percent.
What they didn't know is that Noire's killing intent didn't radiate with them in mind, but rather because Noire was now experiencing his very first 'Heart Demon.'
A Heart Demon is a peculiar state of bottleneck that stands between a cultivator and a breakthrough between Realms.
Still, Noire's bottleneck had its particular purpose, and he was able to realize this bottleneck the moment he accepted his weakness.
Sudden enlightenment hit Noire when he felt this bottleneck and asserted the reason behind its loosening. The heart of the Dao is one's catalyst to soar against the heavens, and a weak heart of the Dao doesn't qualify for a promotion or the recognition of heaven and earth.
The enlightenment in the way against heaven isn't something one can seek, but rather it's an opportunity one should realize, or at least that's what Noire believed for now.
His greatest bottleneck was his arrogance and pride as a Dragonborn who took everything for granted. The moment he acknowledged himself as being weak, the arrogance of his bloodline erupted as if to prove Noire's consciousness to be wrong.
Then he realized, as long he has the power of a Dragon, he sure is strong. However, that's not the power he desires at the moment.
The more he maintains his aloof and arrogant attitude as if he doesn't require the help of the Martial Arts Avenue, why would heaven and earth give him recognition?
Doesn't matter how strong he is, even if he can obliterate an entire universe to oblivion, the recognition of a primordial omnipotent will isn't about strength. Perhaps this world is weak and lackluster, but what about the Avenues in the 6th dimension? Can he still act aloof and arrogant in the face of such power?
First, he has to acknowledge his weakness.
Second, he has to acknowledge that the will of heaven and earth is indispensable.
Third, he has to cleanse his Heart Of Dao from the arrogance and pride of a Dragon and humble himself to a mortal. A mortal who needs the support and guidance of a supreme will, a mortal who needs strength and power to ascend and advance.
In his heart, Noire felt bitter.
When he first brought Yue along, it was to understand the human practice from observing her growth.
Now, the fact that she had to pay her life for him to eventually comprehend the relationship between humans and heaven's will... He gave her a life to help him, and help him she did.
The relationship between humans and heaven's will is simple.
The former desires, and the latter offers.
Heaven is just and nothing is free.
Humans who seek power suffer from corresponding disasters such as the Heavenly Tribulation. Noire can't help but admire the human heart.
From ancient times humans were nothing but ants, but perhaps because of their struggle as ants, they have gained the support of such a primordial will.
"..."
Another half a day later, Noire was all alone at the pinnacle of the plateau.
With the help of the seal and his Spiral Ecliptic Virtue, he was capable of sealing his inborn prowess as a Dragon.
With the help of Heaven's Will, he was able to cleanse his heart of martial arts from the remnants of Dragon's innate pride and arrogance. However, he knows that once he returned to his main body, he will have to cope with that arrogance once more.
Revolving the Spiral Ecliptic Virtue, Noire's breath slowly became serene and harmonious with the flow of heaven and earth energy besides him.
Black clusters of impurities began to seep out from his skin in a quantitative manner before turning into mist and vapor.
Seasonal winds fled by.
Thunder rumbles and roams the heavens.
The sun basks into the horizon and the moon ascends towards the sky.
Slowly, the cycle of life progressed and days passed.
Day by day, Noire felt his established connection with the will of heaven solicit and strengthen.
His long black hair was now an illuminating cluster of white and silver.
His ink-black hair was his inborn signature of being a Void Dragon, and now that signature has been washed away from his body.
Noire's current self and his real body in the 6th dimension, if placed together, would look like an incarnation of the Yin and Yang.
- - - -
Swoosh~
The wind currents suddenly became turbulent, the flood dragon which spiraled around Noire non-stop for the past few days sank into his dantian.
Stormy clouds began to disperse as the clouds of the Heavenly Tribulation converged, bringing along the bustle and roars of their golden lightning.
...
Back in the Phoenix Palace in a luxurious courtyard outside.
Arima, Phoenix Queen, Kirin, Lady Feng, and Anastasia sat on chairs of pure jade.
They were discussing Noire's matters and the imminent predicament when they suddenly looked in a single direction.
Kirin furrowed her beautiful eyebrows, penetrating the distance of hundreds of kilometers effortlessly to monitor the situation around the plateau's peak.
"This..." Kirin muttered in disbelief.
"Junior brother Siyu is breaking through!" Lady Feng exclaimed in awe.
But she continued, "How can one take the death of his companions as an opportunity for a breakthrough..." She spoke in a dazed tone.
"See, I told you that guy is weird!" Arima snorted coldly. For the past few days, he was constantly complaining about Noire and blaming Phoenix Queen for dragging him into muddy waters.
They all speculated that Noire will face trouble in his cultivation due to the incident, and everyone was pushing the blame from one side to the other.
"Like you have any right to speak," Kirin retorted with an unhappy expression before turning towards Anastasia.
With a grin, she said, "You missed your first opportunity, don't you want to ruin another person's breakthrough now that you have the chance?"
Anastasia was still watching the Heavenly Phenomenon in a daze when she heard Kirin's remark.
She winced and bit her bottom lip in sorrow. She still doesn't know what to tell Kami, or how to forgive herself.
For the past few days, she didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't even rest.
All she did was stand by the coffin that contained her daughter with a dejected look on her face.
Lady Feng pushed Kirin's chest with a grim glare, this wasn't something to joke around about.
Yes, they loathe and dislike Anastasia's conduct, but they also share some of the responsibility for their death.
Not to mention Tianshi was Lady Feng's sister in the sect, so Kirin's remark had also hurt Lady Feng, although indirectly.
"Tsk... Fine." Kirin sighed before taking gentle steps towards Anastasia.
She looked her in the eye directly before saying in a low yet clear voice, "Those three, their blood is on our conjoined hands. Heaven is unfair, so don't blame yourself too much."
Rumble...
Roar...
"This..."
A thunderous Dragon Roar resounded once the embodiment of Noire's spirit emerged to undergo the sublimation of Heaven and Earth.
During the breakthrough from Ether Realm to Twilight Realm, the consciousness transforms into the Sea Of Knowledge.
For the process to go unimpeded, the body of one's spirit would temporarily surface as a phantom before returning to the body, and diving towards the depths of one's Knowledge Sea.
Everyone thought that Noire had the inheritance of a Flood Dragon at first, but not anymore...
Because by the Raging Clouds Plateau, stood the magnificent phantom of a Real Dragon.
A Dragon that was thousands of meters in size.
The presence of the Dragon alone had a miraculous effect of purifying the bloodline, thus those below the Celestial Realm like Kirin and Anastasia instantly felt the benefits.
With a shocked expression, they both sat down to meditate in a similar trance to when Tianshi first entered Noire's space of enlightenment.
Alas, the phantom's appearance was brief.
Too brief for either of them to benefit.
With a dejected sigh and a smile that looked uglier than crying, Kirin said, "Forget my joke, even if you poured down your entire base of Monster Qi, it'd dissipate before reaching his spirit, much less disturb his breakthrough..."
Everyone else silently nodded, even more, eager to solicit their relationship with Noire this time.
'Even though it'd be akin to a dog spitting ivory if I could somehow gain his favor to purify my bloodline...' Kirin thought, however, not so optimistic, especially after the whole Arima episode.
Meanwhile, Anastasia had a whole different matter on her mind.
She was always confused about how could Tianshi be breaking through, and from Arima's estimation, she was breaking through to the Eclipse Realm.
How could her aptitude suddenly increase with her mixed bloodlines? She was confused at first.
But now it was all clear.
If only from his phantom she felt her bottleneck in bloodline loosen, what kind of benefit did Tianshi get?
'And here I was asking for qualifications over mere pride... Heck, if I was in my daughter's shoes, I would have chosen the same hundred times over...'
Thinking like this, Anastasia felt bitter regret, if only she had more faith in her daughter's judgment of character, this whole mess wouldn't occur.
Drip...
Drip...
By now, Anastasia was genuinely crying.
Yet no one blamed her for it as they understood.
Still, there's no medicine for regret in such a world.