Unknown place.
A big mountain, its top piercing the clouds, could be seen from afar. The existence of the mountain, like a lonely giant embedded nail on the land, showed its majesty and beauty to the onlooker. The mountain surrounded by vast lush forests stretching towards the horizon, gave the mountain all the glory as the highest ground in this region.
On one part of the mountain, there was a giant cave so huge that even a creature as tall as a hill could fit in it. The cave emitted an eerie aura that would scare every soul who tried to challenge it or even those who only looked at it.
The cave extended for a kilometer, and at its end, there was a silhouette of a big creature whose body could crush a big village if he lay on it. The creature had four feet and seemed to lay with closed eyes as if still sleeping or taking a nap. Suddenly, it opened its eyes, and a blue hue emanated from them. He then sat on his back feet like a cat.
His silhouette became much clearer, revealing the shape of a lion with a rigid mane. "Hahahaha, I finally found him! He has finally returned."
He burst out laughing, making the mountain tremble and the wind blow towards the forest, causing all the beasts to panic. His voice could be heard far away, and even on the horizon, many flying creatures could be seen taking flight after hearing his laugh.
"Yes, finally, finally," he sniffed. His eyes suddenly became moist with tears, but before they could drop onto his cheek, he wiped them away. After controlling his emotions for a few moments, he grinned.
"Yes, with his return, our time to retake what is ours will not be long. Those fuckers will experience the true horror of ultimate power." He growled, releasing his frustrations while still grinning and closing his eyes again.
"Soon, soon."
-------------------------------------------
After his talk with Emperor Thonias, he was brought back to the statues' place. He felt the energy from this place rushing towards him and slipping into his dantian. After he opened his eyes, a secret door opened on the wall behind the statues. When he entered, he saw a golden-brown bow on a stone table and a skeleton behind it. The skeleton sat in a lotus position, covered by roots and leaves. He instantly knew that this was Emperor Thonias and bowed towards the skeleton before looking at the bow.
Aldrian looked at the treasure in front of him, a bow with beautiful carvings and a strong aura that made him feel interested in it. Beside it, there were also some arrows inside a container and a box. He picked up the box first, and when he opened it, he found a book. After reading the contents, he finally knew what it was.
"This is a book containing Emperor Thonias' techniques. Some of them are the same as the techniques of the current emperor, but some are original techniques of Emperor Thonias." He returned the book to the box and stored it in his storage ring. He then looked at the bow and arrows and tried to examine them with his Eyes of the Heaven.
----------------------------------------------
Earth Shattering Bow
Description: The bow that always accompanied Emperor Thonias Evergreen of the Ivory Empire. This bow was created from one of the roots of the World Tree and has been blessed to have strong power. The artifact has its own sentience and can choose its master. Only the fated one can pull its string and shoot the arrows.
Grade: Low Divine.
------------------------------------------------
Wind Slasher Arrow
Description: The arrows that come in a set with the Earth Shattering Bow. These arrows were created from one of the roots of the World Tree and have been blessed to never miss their target. Emperor Thonias Evergreen of the Ivory Empire only used these arrows a few times.
Grade: Low Divine.
---------------------------------------------
Aldrian gasped at the bow and arrow's level. A divine-level artifact is very difficult to make, even for dwarves, they have a small chance of creating one even with the right materials. He was sure that every nation on this continent had its own trump card with a divine artifact, but in front of him, there was one used by the legendary Emperor Thonias.
He then touched the bow to pick it up but felt it tremble and sensed its reluctance. Aldrian tried to inject his golden energy to make it accustomed to his touch. When the bow received his energy, it stopped trembling, and he suddenly felt a stronger connection to the bow. He could sense the bow's feelings—it felt happy to receive his energy and became as docile as a pet. Aldrian smiled when he sensed this and tried to pull the bowstring.
"Well, I never learned archery, but maybe I can learn it in the Ivory Empire. The elves are famous for their archery skills anyway."
He could feel the power of this bow and made a note to learn archery, for it would be a waste of this artifact if he didn't. He stroked the bow to reassure it, and the bow responded with a trembling of happiness before Aldrian stored it in his storage ring. He then looked at the skeleton, noticing the green clothes it wore were tattered and covered in roots. He stood in front of the skeleton and once again bowed down.
"I will make the best use of your treasures. I will even give some to the Ivory Empire. You can rest assured." He straightened himself and looked at the skeleton one last time before leaving the room.
After that, he returned to the first hall he came to and looked at the other rooms. The other two rooms were filled with mountains of peak level energy stones and artifacts, which shocked him. The accumulation of Emperor Thonias's wealth, kept undisturbed for millions of years, had turned this underground place into an energy stone mine of peak level.
"This many peak-level energy stones, it's enough to create a country."
Aldrian grinned with a satisfied expression at the new wealth he had acquired, imagining the many possibilities it offered for his future. Perhaps because this place had already changed ownership to him, he could start to feel a connection to it, sensing everything within and stretching out to the mist outside. It felt like a domain, but he sensed it was a weaker, downgraded version of his true domain ability.
"If I can make this place and the entire forest my domain, it will be good. I can have one more place as my safety guarantee and also protect this place and the forest." he thought.
"But how do I make it my domain?" He almost grasped the concept of his domain ability, but a few things still confused him. How could he make an area his domain? How could he determine the size of the area that would be his domain? He began to ponder.
"Let's see, the first time I got a domain was in the village in the secret realm after the sudden appearance of Eyes of the Heaven, but I had that domain without any intervention on my part. Let's say that is because the village is my birthplace and became my first domain. But how about my domain in Balin? At that time, the only thing I did was cultivate my comprehension and—" Then he thought of something.
I'm tied to the universe.
I'm tied to nature.
All of this is my own karma.
Why I am different is also my destiny.
My domain encompasses all things.
There is nothing that can escape my view.
There is nothing that can escape my sense.
There is nothing that can escape my will.
"I tried to repeat those lines and engage in self-introspection. When I reached the sentence 'Why I am different is also my destiny,' I suddenly integrated myself with Olivia, and Olivia's area of blessing is the entire Balin. So now that size is my domain. After it became my domain, the size steadily grew following my cultivation." He tried to remember the feeling when he integrated with Olivia's true body.
He returned to the statues' hall, where the statues had now become ordinary, and sat in front of them. He closed his eyes to test his conclusion and concentrated.
"Remember the feeling, I'm tied to the universe, I'm tied to nature, all of this is my own karma, why I am different is also my destiny." He repeated those lines in his mind, immersing himself in the sentences. The energy inside his dantian and meridians moved on their own, creating their own path of cultivation, responding to Aldrian's self-cultivation. Aldrian forgot about his surroundings for a moment before he opened his eyes and looked at the screen in front of him.
Integrating with the forest of despair....3%
He smiled and stood up. "I think I'm starting to get it now. I have to make myself blend with the universe and nature, and those lines are the key words. I can feel the connection to nature and the vastness of the universe. In the end, I got 'My domain encompasses all things' and the lines after that as my ultimate ability because I connect to the universe and nature itself. If my hypothesis is correct, the domain will be created in every area I connect myself to nature and the universe using those lines."
"As for how big the domain is, it depends on the area itself. If the area is already in someone's territory, then my domain will encompass their entire territory. So I only got Balin because the World Tree of Balin's blessing area is only in Balin. If I want to take the entire Ivory empire as my domain, then—" He paused for a moment.
"I have to cultivate in the World Tree of Evergreen, whose area of blessing is the entire Ivory Empire. If I create the domain in land without an owner, the size of my domain will really depend on my cultivation level."
He deduced this from what he had just felt and believed his hypothesis was correct. So he just needed to test it.
"I can do that after my test here. While we're at it, let's meet the inhabitants of this forest." He then walked towards the outside of the underground place, sensing many presences outside.