Free Web NovelChapter 412: Chapter 404: The Seven Holy Halls All Gather Within Shi Ming
After seeing off the two Commanders, Shi Ming returned to the captain’s quarters and rested for the night.
The next morning, once the uses for his Eye of Destiny had been restored, he took out the "Space-Time Holy Hall Origin" and the "Life Holy Hall Origin" that he had pulled from the Activated Wormhole Pouch, as well as the corpse of Rui Liang of the Dark Star Race.
"Space-Time Holy Hall Origin."
"Absorbing it grants the skill [Four-Dimensional Sanctuary]."
The absorption threshold required one to have already mastered a relatively precise time or space-related skill. Having already acquired [Destiny Light Cone] and [Bore], Shi Ming naturally far exceeded this requirement.
"Life Holy Hall Origin,"
"Absorbing it grants the skill [Supreme Sanctuary]."
This skill, from Holy Hall 001, the Creation Celestial Pillar, had one of the most complex thresholds among all Holy Hall Skills. It required nine transfers. However, with Ah Jian, who could split infinitely, the nine transfers were a piece of cake for Shi Ming. He just needed to have eight Ah Jians sequentially devour the Life Holy Hall Origin, with the final transfer being his own consumption.
It would just be a bit of a waste of time.
But Shi Ming wasn’t prepared to waste time.
He had a simpler method of absorption.
That was to use his overwhelming Attack Power to shatter these Holy Hall Origins, breaking the rules with brute force. This way, he could absorb them without any threshold, just like how he had acquired the [Death] Holy Hall Origin.
Shi Ming’s pupils turned into wormholes.
[Bore] activated.
His formidable Spiritual Power transformed into borers, penetrating the two Holy Hall Origins. They began to gnaw and consume from within. With just a few bites, the two incredibly difficult-to-destroy Origins were bored through and broken down by Shi Ming, bite by bite. The fundamental abilities they transformed into began to slowly merge into his body, absorbed by all his cells and converted into his own energy.
If he focused solely on awakening them, it would only take one to two days.
If he multitasked, it might take three to five days, or even longer.
Shi Ming wasn’t in a hurry at the moment. He could slowly absorb their power. Besides, while absorbing them, he could also try to fuse them with different Holy Hall Origins. He was quite looking forward to the "eight-in-one" Nirvana Origin, [Zero].
He let out a long breath.
At this point, all Seven Holy Halls had merged into his body.
Next up was "Sorrow."
Unlike with Space-Time and Life, when facing Sorrow, Shi Ming’s Right Arm Red Pattern showed no desire for it. It seemed the body of the Dark Star Race creature and the Nirvana skill Origin within held no allure, less so than even an S-rank skill Origin.
This was highly unusual.
Shi Ming tried touching the energy within the blood with his hand.
’Hm?’
’There really is some repulsion?’
’Could it be that there’s another threshold to obtaining it?’
Shi Ming’s gaze focused on the corpse of the Dark Star Race creature, and he used his Eye of Destiny.
"Eye of Destiny, acquire intelligence!"
[Corpse of a Dark Star Race creature, and a Nirvana-rank "Sorrow" skill Origin.]
[Sorrow:]
[Clasp hands together to bring down a cross-shaped blade of light, instantly slicing the target to deal terrifying damage. The cut is imbued with sorrowful energy, preventing healing and forming an eternal wound. This eternal wound is contagious. Even if the afflicted body part is cut off and discarded, the effect will follow like a maggot latched to bone.]
[Skill Acquisition Threshold:]
[Dismember all 78 of the body’s organs into four equal parts and reassemble them. After the wounds have completely healed, Sorrow can be absorbed.]
?????
’This threshold is way too inhuman, isn’t it? And it’s not like I absolutely have to have this skill...’
The intelligence wasn’t finished. Shi Ming continued reading—
[Additional Intelligence:]
[1. The universe is cruel. Unlike S-ranks, after a Nirvana-tier being dies—be they human, beast, or another race—they will leave behind an inheritable Nirvana-tier Origin.]
[2. The universe is merciful. Nirvana Origins are exclusionary; each being can "theoretically" only inherit one Nirvana Origin.]
[3. The universe is open. Nirvana Origins obtained through "non-inheritance" means (such as self-realization or fusion) possess an innate inclusivity and limitless potential, unrestricted by the "exclusionary" rule.]
[4. For most beings, fusing a single Nirvana Origin already exhausts their entire potential.]
[5. Excess Nirvana Origins are not useless. You can forcibly use your Right Arm Red Pattern to devour the energy within "Sorrow" to gain a 50% increase in attribute values. However, the Eye of Destiny reminds you that this is not a cost-effective exchange. In the Star Sea, an Origin that can allow a Holy Hall Tier being to absorb and evolve to the Nirvana tier is enough to trigger a war between civilizations, or be traded for unimaginable, top-tier resources.]
[...]
"Cruel, merciful, open..."
Shi Ming mulled over these rules.
’Cruelty means that even at the Nirvana realm, you could still end up doing the work for someone else to reap the rewards.’
’Mercy is more like a rule-based protection for the weak.’
’It’s like wealth. If Nirvana-tier powerhouses could infinitely absorb Nirvana Origins, then without a doubt, 99% of all resources would snowball into the hands of the top 1% of Old Dengs. The Star Sea would become a hunting ground a hundred times more brutal than it is now. Civilizations would lose any chance of stable development, and weaker races would never have a chance to rise.’
’And they would become lambs raised for slaughter.’
’But as it is, the rules instead encourage those Old Dengs to find their own unique paths and forge new ways forward.’
’But it’s not absolute, either.’
’It’s just a matter of insufficient temptation.’
’If a veteran Old Deng, or even a so-called "demigod," learned that Shi Ming possessed the coded skill [Bore], they would undoubtedly try every means to seize it. Whether to give it to their descendants or their clan, or to discard their own ordinary Nirvana skill to acquire [Bore] anew, the cost-to-benefit ratio would be extremely high.’
’There are currently only 39 single-word coded skills in the universe.’
’They are worth any risk.’
Shi Ming put away Rui Liang’s corpse.
With his Ten Thousand Forms Sanctuary, he basically already had "Sorrow," more or less. Devouring it for only half the attribute boost was indeed a poor trade-off. It was better to save it as capital for his future entry into the Star Sea. As a "native," if he wanted to make it in the Star Sea, he had to have sufficient resources built up.
Besides, to be honest,
now that he had seen better skills, from his current perspective, he had little desire for those Nirvana skills with two- or three-character names.
’If I’m going to fuse something, I’m going to fuse the best!’
’The eight-in-one fusion is the true path!’
’The [Zero] that comes from fusing the eight Holy Hall Origins will definitely be another coded Nirvana skill. Only a coded skill like that is what I truly want.’
He was just one step away.
The "Purification" Origin was nowhere to be found.
’Maybe I can ask Ah Jian or the Divine Lamp?’
’One is an insect that has lived for ten thousand generations, its memories alone an endless treasure trove waiting to be mined, comparable to a search engine. The other is the Star Spirit of a Wishing Star; its own power is average, but its abilities are unique. Maybe there’ll be an unexpected discovery.’
"Ah Jian,"
"Have you ever heard of the Holy Hall skill Origin for [Purification]?"
The black King Insect transformed into a multi-core processor and began its search.
