"The Four Sectors' Border Region is a vast canyon surrounded by steep cliffs, forming a complex labyrinth. Unless you have a route map, you're more or less likely to be lost in it. The location also makes it simple for bandits to move around, hence why it is dangerous," Trivar explained with a smile. "Of course, we've also come across numerous skeletons of bandits in the past that had taken a wrong path after looting merchant caravans in a hurry. Unsurprisingly, they aimlessly roamed the canyon until they eventually died."
"If the canyon is that risky, why can't they just fly over it? If they employ demon beasts capable of flight, surely the journey would be simple, right?" Krune was confused. In the God Realm, one could only take flight at the Semi-God Stage. But that didn't mean that flying itself was impossible.
Any species with wings powerful enough to lift their bodies were able to soar through the skies. Also, it wasn't an act that depended on their cultivation realm, but on the innate strength of their muscles obtained through their races.
Hence, it made no sense why no one tried to fly above it. If they were able to look at the area from above, they would have been able to map out the entire canyon, making the journey easy. On top of that, taming the beasts to fly over it would have been easy. The Beast Tamer profession wasn't that rare after all.
"If only that was possible," Trivar let out a helpless sigh as he said.
"At the top of the canyon grows a mysterious vine that we haven't been able to understand even to this day. That vine numbers in the billions and covers the entire region. Whenever any cultivator gets close to it, the vines would instantly latch on the cultivator and devour them whole. Most of the time, they only target those cultivators flying in midair. That's why no one has tried to cross the Four Sectors' Border Region through the air."
"How tall are they? If we can fly at an incredibly high altitude, surely avoiding them would be possible," Diana stated her opinion, sneaking a quick glance at Krune.
"That's not possible either." Trivar shook his head.
"The top of the canyon is a place dominated by the Restriction Law. With that, most of the other laws are restricted there. Of course, that also includes flight. You cannot fly above a certain altitude once you enter the Four Sectors' Border Region. Even Semi-God Realm cultivators are no exception. Also, this height is well within the range of the Predominated Vines."
"The Restriction Law." Krune frowned, having never heard of a law that could restrict other laws. There were places where some laws were dominant. But that was only because they were used by the majority.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe fact that a law could restrict other laws despite being at the same level was a first for him as well. "I've never heard that something like this was possible."
"The God Realm is incredibly vast, so vast that even someone at the Primal God Realm cannot hope to explore every nook and cranny even after they expend their entire lifespan. There might be more mystical places out there like the Four Sectors' Border Region."
Krune then felt the true scale of the God Realm as Trivar talked, realizing just how insignificant his existence was in the grand scale of things.
"Then, what is a Predominated Fruit?" Vardin asked, expressing his doubt.
"So, you must have seen that mission as well. That's posted in the Mercenary Guild of every city on our continent." Trivar waved his hand as he explained, "There have been cases where a Predominated Vine, once matured, produces a single fruit. If left alone, the Predominated Fruit would melt and evaporate. And when it does, it strengthens the Restriction Law in the region. But…"
Trivar trailed forth, sensing their cultivation bases as he chuckled. "But when a cultivator in the God Foundation Realm consumes it, all their laws would be absorbed into the fruit's essence and instantly condense their Spiritual Incarnation."
"Spiritual Incarnation!" Diana involuntarily shouted in shock.
"Yes." Trivar nodded at her. "Creating a Spiritual Incarnation is tremendously difficult and has to be completed when one is in the God Foundation Realm. If they fail to create it, then their cultivation would stagnate in that realm for the entirety of their lives. To avoid such a risk, most cultivators ignore it and directly head to the God Core Realm."
"But." His expression turned serious, almost zealous as he spoke with a tone of worship, "A cultivator who completes their Spiritual Incarnation is almost unkillable by those at the same realm and even those at a realm higher."
"Spiritual Incarnation." Krune felt his heart thump all of a sudden, feeling that something in him had resonated with the term. 'So, what I was planning to do all along would form a Spiritual Incarnation?'
It gave him a clearer perspective. Instead of using the laws in their empirical form, combining them and structuring them into a collective whole would give him a far more stable power. Based on what Trivar said, that would result in a Spiritual Incarnation.
But he also realized their difficulty and why most cultivators just avoided them and proceeded to the God Core Realm. At present, Krune was only able to maintain his Balance Laws for two seconds. They were unstable. He didn't even know what he should do to proceed in order to create his Spiritual Incarnation.
"How do we create our Spiritual Incarnations?" Diana asked, slightly curious.
"I have no idea. Only a select few families possess the method to condense one. All I know is the fact that we have to combine all our laws into it." Trivar shook his head as he gave a vague answer.
"This is why the Predominated Fruit is incredibly important. Consuming it would make the process of creating your Spiritual Incarnation automatic. Naturally, you still need to comprehend a sufficient number of laws to create a cohesive Spiritual Incarnation. If you don't have enough laws, your Spiritual Incarnation would be incomplete even if you consume the fruit."
Trivar sighed. "Nevertheless, obtaining a Predominated Fruit is a D Rank mission. So, you have a general idea on how hard it is to actually get one."
'Why was it never mentioned to me before?' Krune thought about his friends, shaking his head soon after as he realized it wouldn't have made any difference. As long as he didn't live under a rock and explored the God Realm, he was bound to come across the term.
Also, since it was something that could only be completed in the God Foundation Realm, his friends probably forgot to tell him. When they split, he was only in the Transformation Realm after all.
"How…long will we be traveling? How many teams, including us, will be accompanying the caravan?" Vardin took the chance to ask.
"There will be four teams, including yours. Three are F Rank teams, while the last is an E Rank team," Trivar responded succinctly.
It wasn't some sort of secret information anyway. The Mercenary Guild had them, and the teams that joined were bound to meet up when they departed. Besides, most of Trivar's trust in Krune came from the fact that he was affiliated with the Spirit Awakener Guild.
He frowned a bit as he looked at the two Silver-Winged Mouses but didn't show a drastic change in emotion on his face. He was a merchant. Money was what dictated his emotions and decisions. He made eye contact with Vardin, speaking with the same tone he used towards Krune, "The Demon Beasts used by our Pitlook Merchant Caravan can trek for long distances without rest. They can even take flight for a short duration. We use that to navigate around dangerous terrain and reduce our time of travel."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmSpeaking about his Demon Beasts brought a look of pride on his face, showing that he valued them greatly. "With that, despite the treacherous terrain in our route, we would arrive at the Four Sectors' Border Region within six months. Then again, passing through the canyon would take anywhere from 6-10 months. It would depend on the factors such as the environment, bandits, and the movement of the Predominated Vines."
"That's quite a long journey," Krune commented, thinking if it would be faster had he traveled on his own. After realizing that he neither had a map of the terrain nor a route to move through the Four Sectors' Border Region, he decided that it was better for him to stay with the caravan. After all, he was in it for the experience and not the destination.
Trivar nodded, misunderstanding that Krune meant that the pay wasn't enough for the journey. He knew that Spirit Awakeners earned a lot. If it wasn't for the fact that he was informed by the Spirit Awakener Guild about the reasons for Krune's travel, he would have rejected his application on the spot, despite the strength Krune displayed.
The life of a Spirit Awakener was valuable. After all, the demand to awaken a weapon's spirit surpassed the supply. If a Spirit Awakener joined his caravan and died along the journey, he wouldn't be able to shoulder the blame. Naturally, he also secretly made arrangements for Yulian to stay within the caravan while not hindering Krune's journey.
"That's why we will be providing you food and a place to stay throughout the journey. The mission conditions only state that you have to take action when the caravan is in danger," Trivar said.
"That's fine by me." Krune got up from his seat. "We'll be there on time when the journey starts."
"Here's to a fruitful journey."
Krune, Diana, and Vardin then left the inn, wandering the streets as Krune asked them, "Do you know anything about Spiritual Incarnations?"
"The Silver Winged Mouses don't have any Spiritual Incarnations. That's why we're weak." Diana bowed her head, muttering with a soft voice.
"Why…are you heading to the Four Sectors' Border Region in the first place? Aren't you two putting your lives at risk?" Krune wondered.
"We're after the mission reward," Diana said as she thought about all that God Stones.
"We have something to do in the Four Sectors' Border Region. But traveling there on our own would cost a lot." Vardin smiled bitterly as he continued, "A place to stay, food to eat, and a reward of 1000 Rank One God Stones upon completing the mission. We cannot ask for anything better."
Seeing their happy smiles at the mere mention of 1000 Rank One God Stones, Krune had realized for the first time in the God Realm that...
His sense of money was already skewed.