"A stroll, my ass!" Atlas scoffed, glancing at his companion, "We are talking about a damned forbidden zone… It's not a fucking grassland with fluffy rabbits and lovely fawns. One step wrong, and we are fucked up for good!"
"At least you can broaden your horizons. This is a land where only peak experts of this world can enter and, probably, come out alive."
Hearing the old lizard mention those existences, the young man couldn't help but satisfy his curiosity and precise some of his uncertainties: "You said that Kurmanus is an expert at the God Realm… what does that mean?"
"Ohi... you are more ignorant than I thought." Deus lamented but still started explaining calmly: "As you should know, the cultivation path for creatures similar to you is divided into Mortal, Saint, Sage, and the last one, the strongest and obscure one, the God Realm. Clearly, those are the limits that you will encounter in this world. Back to our home, even Immortals were considered average cultivators."
Deus' revelation shocked the young man, who couldn't help but wonder about the realms above the God Realm.
While Atlas was lost in thought, Deus' muzzle never stopped: "Mortal Realm is divided into five Minor Realms. This is where you are stuck, but it's also the easiest for humanoid creatures like you."
"After this step exists the Saint Realm, also called the bridge for the body. Indeed, in that bridge or Pseudo-Saint step, your Chaotical Core must go through destruction and then use the turbulent energy accumulated over the last Minor Realm of the Mortal stage to pose the foundations for the Chaotical Crystal and start cleansing your physical body of impurities. It sounds simple, but most people were subdivided and labeled as true practitioners or mortals at this stage."
Excluding the information about this so-called God Realm, Atlas had learned almost everything about the others from the ancient books or, even better, from his grandparents. But he still listened carefully, trying to not miss even a single piece of information. After all, Deus was an existence who had lived for countless years and was undoubtedly a source of knowledge more incredible than the ones he had met in the past.
"Well... Once you have crossed the Pseudo-Saint step, you must go through three processes after your crystal shards are formed. In order there are Fragmentation, Integration, and Crystallization. And those Minor Realms were renominated the Citrinitium, Onyxite, and Crystalist Saint."
What the young man knew about these three Minor Realms was practically the same as him.
In fact, he knew that it was rather painful and challenging because the principal prerequisite was obtaining a constitution that goes beyond mortality. Basically, a cultivator who wanted to proceed further in the fathomable Saint Realm had to shed his lowly mortal body and form a perfect Chaotical Crystal simultaneously.
It was simpler for those born with Goldy, Sacred, or Heavenly Constitutions, as those physiques could help the process of the body. However, an ordinary cultivator could improve a mortal body with Heavenly and Earthly Treasures or man-made pills.
Taking Alchemists or Blacksmiths as an example, their flames could help in the process in many ways.
As he already knew, the Citrinitium Saint stage had to pass the Fragmentation process, where the crystal shards were slowly tempered and reforged continuously to temper organs. This granted the blood and veins more resistance and purity. In particular, the blood could store a large quantity of Chaos Energy, significantly boosting battle power.
Onyxite Realm was about the Integration process, which fortified the bones, bringing them closer to an artifact stage, using the residual power and ethereal powder left behind by the first process.
The last one, the Crystalist Realm, used the Crystallization process to merge all the shards into a single, pure crystal. This phase purified every pore on one's skin, making the body a perfect vessel for cultivation and removing most of the remaining impurities.
This was the Saint Realm, a new world for the cultivator and an opportunity for one's body to embark on the road to the Tyrannical Titan Path.
Clearly, most of the cultivators decided that those improvements were more than enough for their cultivation path and firmly chose to continue only the Chaotic Primordial Path.
Once the explanation about the Saint Realm was over, Deus didn't stop and instead moved over to another topic: "About the Sage Realm... well, it is also called the bridge for the soul. Speaking about it... I can feel an extremely fiery soul on you. It's a unique essence with a singular energy."
The shock in Atlas' heart grew as he listened to the old dragon. Still, it didn't end there because he voiced something unexpected even for the young man: "Initially, I thought that it was a rare soul related to the fire element, yet staying in close contact with you, I found out that this matter is not so simple. In fact, it's more powerful than the element of flame, but I'm not entirely sure of its true origin."
At this point, Atlas couldn't hold back and uttered what was lingering on his mind: "You have never encountered someone like me? You lived for so long, yet you are clueless about it? How is that possible?"
Atlas had gained a lot of information from the Eternal Sun Soul Art, so he knew well what kind of blazing fire was dormant in his soul.
"Hey... the world is vast, not to mention the entire universe, so it's unsurprising that I don't know everything about it."
Undoubtedly, its remark made a point, but this gave the young man an excellent opportunity to surprise him for once.
"Hehe... Don't be shocked when I tell you about it..."
Indeed, Atlas's statement picked the old lizard's interest, but after living for so long, he knew well how to hide his emotions.
"Mhm?!"
"It's a soul related to the most potent and primordial fire of the Universe..." Atlas paused briefly, wanting to see a slight change on his muzzle, yet noticing his unperturbed expression, he couldn't help but speak the truth: "... It is the power of the sun... The fucking 'SUN'... Did you hear me?... Hehehe..."
"Ohh... not bad, but nothing to be proud of..."
Surely, Atlas didn't expect such a bland response from Deus and cursed vehemently: "Damn... We are talking about a fucking Sun, not a simple and tiny campfire!"
What followed was a long period of silence. In fact, Deus and the young man looked at each other until Kurmanus' voice reached their ears.
"Oh, little boy... Your soul can be considered unique in some way, yet it's probably only a few steps higher than mine. As for that old dragon, his soul is at the entire universe's peak. Especially after the last reincarnation..."
Atlas couldn't help but scratch his head helplessly hearing those words, and his frustration grew bigger as he listened to the old turtle's speech.
"... A soul empowered by the sun's power is mighty and unique, yet its true potential can only be ascertained later. So, you can brag in front of us only if you can live until then and show us the destructive power of an actual sun. A power capable of devouring everything on his path."
"Geez..." Atlas sighed in resignation, "... Speaking with a bunch of old monsters is so detrimental."
Kurmanus laughed loudly in response but didn't inflict further in the heart of the poor young man and let the old dragon continue his explanation.
"Well... the power of the sun is quite unique and will surely turn out to be helpful. Unfortunately, you are still a Primordial Descendant Lord cultivator, too far from the stage where your soul power can make any difference. First, we must increase your cultivation level by leaps and bounds and reach the Saint Realm as soon as possible. And only when you step on the Sage Realm will we care about your soul power."
There was a small fallacy in Deus's speech. Actually, it was normal to think the same way. Yet, Atlas was entirely different from most of the other cultivators and could already increase his soul power just like a true genius. Furthermore, it was also a simple process since he only needed to collect the power from the sun's rays.
The young man wanted to brag again, yet thinking about what had happened a few moments ago, he hid this matter to give him an unforgettable surprise in the future.
Explaining all those pieces of information took Deus a lot of time, and unexpectedly, the border for the Endless Primordial Desert was only a step away.
"Hmm... we should stop here for now." Deus stated, looking before them with a serious expression: "Little boy... even if you are protected by Kurmanus's power, don't let your guard down and still your heart with all your might. Soon, we will cross an invisible barrier that confines deadly and dark energies. You are well protected from those dangers, but your mind is too young and weak. Don't let it corrupt it no matter what, and warn me if you feel anything strange."
Atlas wanted to learn more about the cultivation path from Deus, but hearing the gravity of his tone, he abandoned those thoughts and nodded with firmness.
Atlas was waiting for that last step, but nothing happened after a few seconds, making him look at his companion in confusion.
Felling his gaze, Deus didn't turn around his head and instead fixed his sharp pupils beyond the horizon: "Calm down... Something strange is happening a few miles away from the border..."
"Hmh?!"
Atlas wanted to ask for more, but before he could even open his mouth, Kurmanus' voice reached them.
"Fuck... it's one of those seasons... the most ardent one, where the sun's rays are at their peak. The current temperature is so high that even Sage Realm experts had to hide like a bunch of scared rats."
"Damn it... usually, this season is the longest one." Deus cursed, annoyed by the current situation: "We can't delay any longer... Kurmanus, we will proceed with my plan if you don't have a better solution."
"Let me think about it..."
While Kurmanus was lost in thoughts, Atlas's mind was in turmoil because his soul trembled so much that even his emotions were shaken. The reason for this strange phenomenon was quite evident to the young man, but the mere thought of such a crazy action made him pale.
His soul was reacting and craving the immense power sealed beyond the barrier, but Atlas didn't dare to open his mouth to express his desire.
"Hmm... You should move to the small oasis on my shell for now. It will be more restrictive for you but undoubtedly safer this way."
Kurmanus' plan was simple. Concentrate most of his power on the oasis to shield the young man from external dangers. Condensing his energy to a smaller region was the safest and most clever solution. Still, there was also something else that he didn't explain and kept his two companions in the dark.
The old turtle didn't waste any more time and moved the two small fellows right to the center of the oasis, a single step from a small pond.
The young man didn't have time to look around carefully because a second later, the creature's massive body moved, ultimately crossing the border and making him experience a terrible nightmare...