Read Novel Full Chapter 517: CREATING HIS OWN PATH
Chapter 517: CREATING HIS OWN PATH
The elders’ residences followed a similar ascending pattern, though far grander in scale.
Rather than sharing floors, each elder owned an entire level.
The higher the floor, and the greater the elder’s status, the more magnificent the residence became: towering private pagodas-within-pagodas, gardens blooming with immortal herbs year-round, and chambers where time itself seemed to slow for deeper meditation.
Finally came the sect master’s palace.
It stood apart from the others, grander and more imposing than anything else in the complex.
A solitary structure of pure white jade and obsidian, crowned with golden spires that pierced the heavens.
Waterfalls of condensed spiritual essence poured from its eaves into crystalline pools below.
Inside, space warped dramatically, the interior sprawled like an entire small realm, with endless corridors, hidden treasure chambers, and a central cultivation dais that floated above a sea of swirling qi.
Training halls came next. Aaron constructed dozens of them, each infused with time-acceleration arrays.
Inside, a single day of focused cultivation could equal weeks or even months outside.
Some halls simulated harsh environments, blazing deserts, frozen tundras, crushing ocean depths, allowing disciples to temper body and spirit against real peril without leaving the sect grounds.
Defensive measures followed.
A shimmering space shield enveloped the entire floating platform, capable of repelling attacks from Primordial realm experts.
Time-slowing fields could trap invaders in agonizing slowness.
Towering destruction cannons of condensed primordial energy stood ready along the outer walls.
Massive terra golems, hulking figures of living stone and molten core, patrolled the perimeter.
Rings of fire cannons waited in silent menace, their barrels glowing with restrained apocalyptic heat.
As for ambient qi density, Aaron hadn’t needed to lift a finger.
The Crown of Luck had passively drew spiritual energy from across the realm.
The concentration within the sect grounds already surpassed the finest qi-gathering formations ever recorded.
Thick, visible mists of pure qi drifted lazily between buildings, nourishing plants, beasts, and cultivators alike.
"All done," Aaron said at last, stepping back to survey his creation.
A faint, satisfied smile touched his lips as he took in the floating paradise he had raised from ruins.
"Now," he turned to Lin Guo, "what do we name the sect? And what will be its code, its guiding principles?"
Lin Guo blinked, caught off guard. "I... don’t really know," he admitted honestly, scratching his cheek.
At first he had considered reviving the traditions of his old, fallen sect.
But after witnessing what Aaron had wrought, something so far beyond anything mortal hands could achieve, he hesitated. Would clinging to the past feel ungrateful?
Aaron read the uncertainty in his expression without effort.
"I don’t mind either way," he said calmly. "I didn’t build this for myself. I’m simply keeping our agreement."
Lin Guo exhaled slowly, then nodded.
"Then..."
"Yes," Aaron said with a small nod. He snapped his fingers.
At the grand entrance gate, far below on the now-lowered platform, a towering jade stele materialized.
Golden characters blazed across its surface, each stroke pulsing with faint heavenly might.
Splitting Heaven Sect.
The name hung in the air like a declaration to the heavens themselves.
"Now we need to recruit disciples," Aaron continued.
"And we should find a proper location to anchor the sect.
Keeping it floating endlessly in the sky, or constantly moving, would scare most people away. They need to feel it’s stable, approachable."
"Let’s go," he added, gesturing for Lin Guo to follow.
With a single, effortless leap, Aaron carried them both down to the sect compound below.
Extending his divine sense outward, he swept the entire realm in an instant, mountains, rivers, forests, cities, hidden valleys, all laid bare before him. His perception moved like an unstoppable tide, searching for the perfect cradle.
In moments he found it: a vast, fertile basin nestled between mist-shrouded peaks, rich in natural qi veins, close to ancient spirit forests and spiritual ore deposits, yet far enough from major powers to avoid immediate conflict.
The land practically sang with latent potential.
Aaron smiled faintly.
"This will do."
----
"Sect Master! Something strange has happened!" An elder burst into the grand hall of the Flying Phoenix Sect, his robes disheveled and his face flushed with urgency.
The Sect Master, seated cross-legged atop his jade dais, slowly opened his eyes.
A flicker of surprise crossed his refined features as he regarded the panting elder.
"What could possibly make you rush in here like a startled bird? Speak clearly."
"Rumors are spreading like wildfire across the continent," the elder said, catching his breath.
"They say a sect... a floating sect has appeared. And it moved, relocated itself to an entirely new area!"
"A floating sect?" The Sect Master raised an elegant brow, leaning forward slightly. "That’s impossible. A new sect with such power? Who could possibly—"
"No, my lord," the elder interrupted, shaking his head vigorously. "It’s not new. From what I’ve gathered... it’s the Splitting Heaven Sect."
The Sect Master let out a short, incredulous laugh. "The Splitting Heaven Sect? That rundown, half-dead little place? The one we all assumed had withered away years ago?" He waved a dismissive hand. "Don’t waste my time with nonsense."
"But it’s true, Sect Master!" The elder’s voice rose with earnest conviction. "I saw it with my own eyes! A colossal pagoda piercing the clouds, black obsidian roofs gleaming like midnight, jade walls that shimmered with spiritual light.
Dragons and phoenixes carved in perfect detail perched on every eave.
The entire structure floated above the mountains like it owned the sky itself. It was... magnificent. Terrifying, even."
The Sect Master’s laughter died. His expression darkened, eyes narrowing as greed flickered behind the surprise.
"Hmph. So Lin Guo somehow stumbled upon a great fortune and kept it hidden from me, from all of us." His fingers drummed once against the arm of his throne.
"He will regret this. I’ll make sure of it."
Word traveled fast.
The Flying Phoenix Sect was far from the only power stirred by the news.
Across the entire eastern continent, ancient sects and powerful clans turned their covetous gazes toward the once-forgotten Splitting Heaven Sect.
Whispers of hidden treasures, divine artifacts, and unimaginable opportunities spread through tea houses, merchant caravans, and secret pavilions.
Everyone wanted a piece of whatever miracle had revived that dying name.
High atop the roof of the grand central hall of the Splitting Heaven Sect, Aaron reclined lazily against the cool obsidian tiles.
His posture was relaxed, almost careless, one leg dangling over the edge, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the endless blue sky dotted with drifting clouds.
To anyone glancing up from below, he appeared to be doing nothing more than idling away the afternoon, lost in idle daydreams.
In truth, he was anything but idle.
Aaron was quietly consolidating the explosive growth in his strength and foundation.
The recent leaps in power had left faint instabilities rippling through his meridians and soul sea.
He spent every moment silently refining, tempering, and stabilizing it all, layer by layer.
"Hmm. Why can’t I advance to the Paradox Rank?" he murmured, his voice low enough that only the wind could hear.
"Thanks to the last reward, my soul strength is more than sufficient. I should be able to step into it by now."
[The Paradox Rank is where true independence begins. You start to build your own foundation and reduce your reliance on the laws of the world.]
"Just like the old man said," Aaron replied softly.
[Correct. At this stage, you must create your own essence, one that defines you uniquely.]
"Hmm... create my own essence," Aaron echoed, eyes half-lidded in thought.
He lifted one hand toward the sky.
Shadows immediately gathered in his palm, coiling like living smoke. Then came blood, crimson threads that pulsed with faint vitality.
Dark magic followed, black and viscous, twisting around the shadows.
Demonic energy surged in next, hot and corrosive, then devil energy layered atop it, cold and tyrannical.
Aaron let the elements dance and clash in his hand, watching them with calm curiosity.
His Mystic Eyes glowed faintly as they analyzed every interaction, every subtle reaction between the forces.
Then, almost imperceptibly, he allowed a trace of Night Essence to leak from his Continuum.
"Hmm. This works too," he muttered.
He compared it carefully to the essences he had summoned earlier.
The Night Essence from his Continuum felt complete, yet foreign, something he could draw upon, but never truly his own creation.
The longer he analyzed, the clearer the truth became.
It was a breathtaking moment of clarity.
His newly strengthened soul allowed him to perceive and comprehend these truths with startling sharpness.
Layers peeled away. Connections formed. Understanding bloomed.
[Congratulations! You have created your own essence—NIGHT ESSENCE.]
The system’s notification chimed brightly in his mind.
Aaron’s lips curved into the faintest, almost mocking smile.
It wasn’t enough.
To him, simply creating "Night Essence" felt... ordinary.
Too close to what others had done before him.
He had followed established paths long enough, borrowed foundations, refined borrowed powers.
No more.
In that quiet instant, high above the clouds with the wind whispering past him, Aaron made his decision.
He would forge his own path entirely. One that belonged to no one else. One that would redefine what essence, what rank itself, could mean.