Location: The West Pavilion – The Abyssal Laboratory
The West Pavilion, once a rotting shack where Aris and his mother had been exiled, was unrecognizable.
It had been transformed into the nerve center of Aris's operation. The wooden walls had been replaced by reinforced Spirit-Obsidian, etched with defensive runes that shimmered with a violet hue. The air inside was kept at a constant, sterile temperature, scrubbed clean of dust by wind formations.
In the center of the room stood a massive, vertical tank filled with translucent green fluid. Floating inside, suspended by wires made of shadow-energy, was Lady Yun.
The Emissary from the Middle Realm looked diminished. Her azure robes floated weightlessly in the liquid, her eyes closed, her face pale. Tubes of spiritual energy connected to her meridians, slowly pulsing as they extracted her high-grade Liquid Qi.
Aris stood before the glass, tapping on a holographic interface projected by his Abyssal Eye.
"Status report," Aris commanded.
[Target: Lady Yun (Captive)]
[Consciousness: Dormant.]
[Qi Extraction Rate: 1.5% per hour.]
[Data Mining: 45% Complete.]
Aris swiped his hand, scrolling through the memories he had harvested from her mind. It was like browsing a Wikipedia of the galaxy.
He saw images of the Myriad Beasts Mountain—a mountain range so massive that planets orbited its peaks like moons. He saw cultivators riding dragons made of starlight. He saw the strict hierarchy of the Middle Realm, where a Nascent Soul expert (like him) was considered merely a "common soldier."
"Sector 994 is a farm," Aris murmured, analyzing the data. "The Upper Realms seed these Mortal Worlds with Qi, let the population grow, and then harvest the 'geniuses' every thousand years like crops."
He looked at Lady Yun. She wasn't a diplomat. She was a quality-control inspector.
"Wake her up," Aris ordered.
The fluid in the tank bubbled. A jolt of electricity surged through the wires.
Lady Yun's eyes snapped open. She tried to scream, but the liquid muffled her voice. She thrashed, realizing she was naked, stripped of her artifacts, and floating in a specimen jar.
Aris tapped the glass.
"Can you hear me?" Aris asked, his voice projected into the tank via a sound rune.
Yun glared at him, her eyes burning with humiliation and rage. She nodded slowly.
"Good. My system has finished downloading your geography lessons," Aris said calmly. "Now I need specifics. The Four Divine Beasts. Where are the keys to their seals?"
Yun sneered. She didn't speak, but her intent was clear: Go to hell.
Aris sighed. "I thought you might say that. System, increase extraction to 5%."
The pumps whirred louder. Yun convulsed as her cultivation base was forcibly drained. The pain wasn't physical; it was the sensation of having years of her life sucked out through a straw.
After ten seconds, Aris lowered the setting.
"The Keys," he repeated.
Yun slumped in the suspension fluid, defeated. Her mental defenses crumbled. She projected a thought-image directly into the room.
The Map of the Four Seals
A holographic map of the continent appeared in the air. Four distinct points glowed with blinding intensity.
* The East (Azure Dragon): Buried beneath the ruins of the Heavenly Sword Sect. (Aris realized he had been standing on top of it during the massacre).
* The West (White Tiger): Located in the Iron-Thunder Graveyard, a canyon of magnetic storms.
* The South (Vermilion Bird): Hidden inside the Volcano of Eternal Ash, protected by the Fire-Cloud Tribes.
* The North (Black Tortoise): Deep beneath the Frozen Abyssal Sea, guarded by immense water pressure and Leviathans.
"They are World Anchors," Yun's voice projected into Aris's mind, weak and raspy. "They stabilize the reality of this sector. If you unseal them... you risk collapsing the dimension."
"Or," Aris corrected, "I re-anchor the dimension to myself."
He turned away from the tank.
"Keep her alive," Aris told the automated system. "Her Qi is refining my pills nicely."
The Upgrade Bench
Aris moved to the other side of the laboratory.
A long table was covered in high-tier loot: The Wings of the Moderator, pieces of the Soul Warden's Armor, and the Heart of the Star (which he had partially drained but saved the core of).
"To hunt Divine Beasts, I need better gear," Aris assessed. "My Abyssal Sovereign Body is strong, but elemental damage is my weakness."
He picked up the Wings of the Moderator. They were made of hard-light, a material that defied physical forging.
"System. Open Creation Forge. Recipe: The Mantle of the Void."
[Drafting Schematic...]
[Primary Material: Wings of the Moderator (Light/Order).]
[Secondary Material: Soul Warden's Plate (Death/Defense).]
[Catalyst: 10 Vials of Lady Yun's Middle-Realm Qi.]
[Outcome Prediction: A cloak capable of shifting between 'Physical' and 'Ethereal' states.]
"Execute."
Aris threw the items into the floating violet vortex of the forge. The Middle-Realm Qi acted as a binding agent, fusing the holy light with the necrotic steel.
Sparks flew. The laboratory hummed with the sound of creation.
Hours passed. Aris stood sweating, pouring his own mana into the mix to stabilize the conflicting elements.
Ding.
A cloak floated down from the vortex. It was jet black on the outside, but the inner lining shimmered with a blinding, starlike white light. It moved like liquid smoke.
[Item Created: The Void-Walker's Mantle]
[Rank: Earth-Grade (Mutated)]
[Stats:]
* Defense: Nullifies 30% of all Elemental Damage.
* Active Skill: 'Phase-Shift' – Become intangible for 3 seconds (Cooldown: 60s).
* Passive: Flight Speed +200%.
Aris draped the cloak over his shoulders. It felt weightless. He vanished from sight for a second, phasing out of reality, then reappeared.
"Perfect."
The War Council: Part Two
Aris exited the laboratory and walked to the main courtyard.
General Thorne, Emperor Qin Long, and Lin Chen were waiting. They stood at attention as Aris approached. The fear in their eyes had been replaced by a fanatical sort of awe. To them, Aris wasn't just a leader; he was a god who kept winning.
"The Empire is stable," General Thorne reported. "The taxes from the conquered territories are flowing in. We have more gold than we know what to do with."
"Gold is useless if we're dead," Aris stated.
He projected the map of the Four Seals into the air.
"This is our next objective. The Four Divine Beasts."
The Emperor gasped. "The Guardian Deities? But Master... legend says they are asleep for a reason. Waking them brings catastrophe."
"The Middle Realm is coming," Aris said coldly. "Lady Yun was just a scout. When she doesn't report back, they will send a fleet. I need the Beasts to weaponize the continent."
He pointed to the map.
"We cannot hunt them all at once. We need to be surgical."
He looked at Lin Chen.
"Lin Chen. You wield the Solar Sword. You have an affinity for Fire and Metal."
"Yes, Master."
"Take the Black Jade Legion. Go West to the Iron-Thunder Graveyard. Do not engage the White Tiger. Just locate the Seal and set up a perimeter. I want that area locked down."
"It shall be done," Lin Chen bowed.
Aris turned to General Thorne.
"Father. You will take the Imperial Navy. Go South to the Volcano of Eternal Ash. The Fire-Cloud Tribes are primitive but dangerous. Negotiate with them. If they refuse... liquidate them."
"Understood," Thorne saluted.
"And you?" the Emperor asked timidly.
Aris turned his gaze to the North. To the frozen, dark ocean that lay beyond the borders of the Frost-Blood Kingdom.
"I'm going North," Aris said. "The Black Tortoise represents Defense and Water. It is the tank of the group. If we are going to fight a war against the stars, I need a shield first."
The Departure
Aris didn't take an army. An army would freeze in the Northern Abyssal Sea.
He walked to the stables, where Nox was waiting. The Eclipse Hound sensed the coming journey. He was pacing, his bone-spikes rattling.
"Ready to go swimming, Nox?" Aris asked.
Nox huffed, looking unimpressed by the idea of water.
Aris climbed onto the hound's back. The Void-Walker's Mantle flowed over them both, concealing their presence.
"Emperor," Aris called out before leaving. "While I am gone, you are to continue the Faith Farm project. I want statues of the 'Abyssal Lord' in every city square by the time I return."
"Yes, Master!" The Emperor bowed low.
Aris kicked his heels.
[Skill: Shadow-Walk (Mount Shared)]
Nox leaped. But he didn't land. He dissolved into the shadow of the palace gate and shot northward, moving at hundreds of miles per hour across the darkened landscape.
As the capital faded behind him, Aris opened his status screen one last time.
[Quest: The Northern Expedition]
[Target: The Black Tortoise (Divine Beast)]
[Location: The Trench of Silence.]
[Environmental Hazard: Extreme Cold / High Pressure.]
[Recommended Level: 60.]
Aris was Level 57.
"Underleveled again," Aris smirked, feeling the wind whip against his mask. "Just the way I like it."