Chapter 1200: Incompatible Destinies

Chapter 1200: Incompatible Destinies

More and more statues were coming alive, including those Zac hadn't passed yet. It didn't take long before Zac was forced to stay on the move to avoid the feelers emerging all around him. But the space was too narrow, and his movements stirred up the Faith Energy, exposing his position. There was no way he'd be able to avoid detection until the candles went out.New n0vel chapters are published on

Zac narrowly avoided being pincered and appeared before the stele. He reached for one of the candles but shied away like he'd been burned when the vague threat turned into overwhelming wrath. Hidden runes on the ceiling and floor had briefly appeared to weaponize the immense amounts of Faith Energy.

Even the [Lucky Beads] around his neck hummed with warning, telling him in no uncertain terms that snuffing out the candles ahead of schedule would only result in death. The catacombs thankfully relented when he backed down, but his actions had awakened the last of the saints.

He was left with two optionshide his presence even further with his Void Emperor Bloodline or interact with the hostile saints. Each came with very real risks. Activating his Void Emperor Bloodline could be considered putting his Void Road on full display, flagrantly flaunting his rejection of the Imperial Fate that nourished the interred souls. The latter seemed marginally safer.

He might have been making a mountain of a molehill, where the sealed spirit's actions were a response to sensing an unidentified presence. They might lose interest after coming into contact and confirming there was no threat. Right or wrong, Zac had no time to perform a deep analysis with over a hundred feelers coming his way. He zigzagged further into the right corridor, appearing before a certain statue.

It depicted a rough-looking warrior holding onto a bardiche. He was a human, just like Zac, and one of the few Peak D-grade saints. He'd fallen defending a teleportation array far beyond his breaking point, allowing reinforcements to arrive. Among the many saints, Zac felt this man was the one closest to him in path and strength, which would hopefully count for something. Zac touched the D-grade saint's spiritual thread, channeling his Evolutionary Path while conveying his beliefs and desire to protect his home from invaders.

Rejection.

The saint's answer was a fierce, murderous rejection that made the statue vibrate with Killing Intent. It was like the spiritual wisp inside was so angry it tried to force its immobile housing to strike down the interloper. The reaction spread like a wildfire, passing through the gallery of saints in less than a second. The feelers were retracted, apparently knowing all they needed about the intruder.

Zac's heart hammered as he directly touched the statue's chest, desperately trying to find common ground with the agitated spirit as his Danger Sense grew increasingly urgent. The three weapons hanging in the central crossing were coming alive, pulling in vast amounts of Faith Energy to light up golden runes across their bodies. The Killing Array was even faster, blazing to life and kicking up a storm.

The ambient faith poured toward Zac like a swarm of angry wasps. Cracks identical to the wounds he got in the Halls of Service returned with twice the speed. The rejection of his presence was so absolute and determined that the damage spread to his other body, making Zac curse with fear and anger. Ogras and Esmeralda tried everything to slow down his collapse, even hiding his presence from the Heavens. Nothing worked against the unrelenting judgment of the Imperial Faith.

Zac's eyes were wild as he unleashed his bloodline to the limits. What was the point in holding back when things had come this far? Activating his imperial bloodline did nothing to calm down the commotion in the catacombs, but neither did it make it worse. Channeling his bloodline wasn't enough. It only made his torment more drawn-out, so Zac also activated [Void Zone].

A five-meter sphere of nullification formed around him, hiding the area from the Heavens and weakening the Imperial Faith. Only a hollow husk was left as the Killing Array entered his body, which only barely overcame his body's natural recovery rate. His D-grade bloodline would never have been able to accomplish such a feat when the Limitless Empire was still around to nourish and bolster their communal faith. Today, it was rootless and greatly weakened.

Unfortunately, [Void Zone] didn't offer a permanent solution to his plight. Holding back the catacomb's seemingly inexhaustible Faith Energy came with a huge drain on his Void Energy reserves. Meanwhile, the inert guardian weapons were feeding on the palpable Killing Intent. It was only a matter of time before they joined the attack.

The slow-burning candles indicated there was over an hour before the trial ended. How was he supposed to endure that long when his Void Energy would last half that at best? Escape to the outer hallways? Impossible. He'd never make it through those high-grade gates. Even if he did, so what? Some of the relics outside belonged to Autarchs. Even damaged, they posed a far greater threat than the defenses in here.

A loud snap interrupted Zac's thoughts. A large crack had appeared on the statue before him, which rapidly spread and forked.

"Wait" Zac's gasped.

The saints were already angry enough to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He didn't want to even imagine how they'd react if he destroyed one of their brothers. A quick inspection confirmed he was the cause. His nullification sphere had disrupted the internal energy flow, creating dangerous leaks and faultlines. The Void had also damaged the spiritual wisp, making the large amounts of energy it controlled go berserk.

One by one, the blessings seeped into the mountain, which released grand ripples of anti-truth in return.

"Holy crap," Zac whispered, almost forgetting the predicament he was in.

How could the blessings be so effective? They weren't even refined and inverted into a semi-void state by [Void Heart]. The first blessing he got added more progress than a month of constant refining and infusing Natural Treasures. The blessing from the C-grade Saints was even more useful, providing almost twice the gains.

The discrepancy should stem from the deeper comprehension of a Monarch. A blessing was an imprint of someone's cultivation. Even if the lights contained roughly the same amount of energy, one was made from better materials. It was just like the Life and Death he'd generated by splitting a Chaos Mote during his D-grade breakthrough. On the surface, the truths were no different from normal Life and Death, but something deeper was encoded in their DNA.

Then what about the B-grade cardinals like Eleani Ano? Would the benefits be twice that of Monarchs? Or even more?

If he let [Void Mountain] absorb the whole sanctum, he would save decades of work on his Bloodline Talent. It might be enough to make it permanent or even unearth the hidden feature of [Spiritual Void]. It wasn't just a matter of saving time and money. Having [Void Heart] constantly refine energy for [Void Mountain] had a high opportunity cost. Whether it was his Cosmic Core, [Force of the Void], or his Eoz bloodline, all could benefit from [Void Heart]'s tempered energy.

Any lingering misgivings about the Eternal Servant's deadly response were thrown out the window as Zac tabulated the benefits. The servant still hadn't appeared, but his human half was probably already slated for death. So why not make the most of the situation? Who knew? It might even be possible to reform this half like a missing limb so long as the other side survived.

Zac's vision of a bright future was interrupted by a scream of danger. One of Haro's vines dragged Zac backward, allowing him to narrowly avoid a terrifying blade formed by the guardian sword. The attack was formed by a huge amount of pure Faith Energy, and it had to be imbued with something equivalent to an Earthly Dao. The blade hadn't even fully awakened, and it was already releasing attacks at the level of Peak Hegemons.

The scepter was just a step behind. The empty chalice needed more time, but Zac's hair stood on end as he sensed its well-contained aura. It was drawing extraordinary amounts of Faith Energy, condensing it into a shimmering liquid. The chalice was only half-full and already held enough power to threaten his life.

Zac turned into a blur, rapidly slapping six statues with the Void. At that moment, an illusory crystal sprouted right in his face, expanding to take up half the wing. The scepter's attack didn't harm a hair on the statues, but both Zac's figure and space tore apart. The real Zac appeared on the opposite side of the inner hall, glancing fearfully at the dummy formed by a displacement treasure.

Another five statues received a touch of death before Zac used [Skystriker] to return to his original position. His movement skill was so fast it looked like he teleported in the confined environment. In reality, he had not. The guardian weapons were placed in the catacomb intersection, and unbearable pain almost made Zac lose control of his skill when he passed the stele.

He appeared in a burst of blood, picking up the six blessings waiting for him before touching a few more statues. The sword had generated a hidden domain, and passing through left him with deep lacerations. He was given no time to recover as another blade tried to cut him apart. The attacks grew increasingly frequent, forcing Zac to change strategy.

An armor of bark appeared over his body as the small crypt was filled with trees. They rapidly withered under the unrelenting onslaught of the Killing Array, but they did help Zac briefly lessen the pressure by taking on most of the punishment. Zac emerged in the intersection by the chalice, stepping out from a tree just before it was shredded.

A wheel made from golden wood appeared behind his back. It was no larger than a manhole cover, and its golden luster made it look like a divine halo. Five densely engraved spokes connected the wheel with its hub, replacing the pillars of old. The center of the wheel was a round wood cutting depicting the cycle of nature.

The D-grade version of [Empyrean Aegis] had instantly crumbled when protecting him in the Pilgrimage of Combat. However, that fireball had been launched by a Monarch, and just surviving the shockwave was a blessing. And while Zac wouldn't trust the golden barrier to fully deal with the faith-imbued attacks from the guardian weapons, it was enough to temporarily block out the Sword Domain.

Zac looked at the sloshing waters of pure faith within the chalice, his brows furrowing with determination as he activated [Void Zone]. The nullification zone fell completely flat in its attempt to snuff out the glowing runes on the chalice's surface, though it did ruin the efforts of drawing Faith Energy. It was like the chalice had been sealed in an airtight container, unable to reach the dense energies waiting on the other side.

That wasn't enough for Zacthe other weapons were dangerous enough. He didn't want to see what kind of mayhem the most powerful treasure would cause when the chalice was filled. Zac knew his plan would drastically exacerbate his growing list of sins, but what else could he do? He'd need to get out of the trial before he could worry about getting a death sentence. So long as it gave him a slim chance at survival, he'd tear down the whole crypt.