Divine Beast Ascension

Preparing to Form a Core

“Where did you get that exercise?” Vloz questioned.

Oli gave up the exercise and immediately responded, “This is something Trada taught me when I returned her egg. Plus, she’s going to help me form my core and set up a formation for me starting tomorrow. I asked Rathe about formations and he just said they draw something to help make you stronger, but that doesn’t explain anything, and my mom said that you would know more about formations. So, what does a formation do exactly, and how does it work?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Vloz said, “I only know a few formations myself and sadly, none of them help to specifically to form a mortal core. But I do understand how they work and can explain them, if you don’t mind me being thorough,” before Vloz gave Oli a chance to respond, Oli leaned forward and gave his full attention.

At this, Vloz continued, “A formation is the culmination of different symbols or patterns that harness and affect the area around them. Different symbols and patterns create different effects and must be joined together in different ways. That’s why for a formation to work, it must be drawn perfectly. Also, the formation’s strength can be amplified by the material it’s drawn with. For example, if it were drawn in blood versus drawn in the dirt or if it was carved with a sacred relic or material it would have a similar effect. All of these things affect the formation’s strength and how it can affect those using or entering the formation. Of course, there are countless formations and there are many formations that can accomplish the same goal yet are completely different. I’m guessing that Trada will be using one that was passed down through her clan, so it must be far stronger than any I know.”

“Can you show me a formation? Maybe if I see one in use, I can better understand how to use one myself,” Oli was determined to get the most benefit possible from the formation and form his core faster than anyone expected him to.

“I guess that’s possible,” said Vloz as he shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Oli to give him enough room.

After the young ape backed up 4 krin, Vloz activated his choker’s void gem and brought out a large vial of some foreign liquid. He proceeded to use his aura to lift and tilt the vial slightly, letting it slowly pour out to the side.

With precision, Vloz guided the vial until ancient-looking symbols began to take shape. Strangely enough, all the symbols were somehow connected and formed a diamond-shaped pattern near completion. When the last drop was used, Vloz sent out a strand of his essence to touch the formation and the formation ignited, bursting into blue and purple flames.

.....

Vloz directly entered the formation and sat up in the center unscathed by the flames. He looked at Oli’s shocked face and smiled. “Oli, this is a basic formation used to help divine beast’s breakthrough from one tier to another. I’ll be needing this formation in a few days when I become a high-perennial, but until then it’s useless,” Vloz stated as he released his aura to extinguish the flames and save the formation for later.

Oli was fascinated by the formation and the energy it gave off. He couldn’t yet sense essence, but he could feel that the nearby energy was gathering at the center of the formation, where Vloz conveniently stood. He was so caught up in excitement, he had forgotten that Vloz was still waiting for him to keep talking.

When Vloz noticed the power-hungry look in Oli’s eyes, he immediately began to think more highly of the youth. He could tell that Oli’s hunger for knowledge and power was going to help Oli’s cultivation speed, especially with the help of Dioro’s techniques and Trada’s help forming a core. With that done, Vloz closed his eyes and returned to his cultivation.

After a couple of minutes Oli saw that Vloz had begun cultivating again, he decided to walk back to the clan before disturbing Vloz further.

On the way, he saw his mom cultivating in front of the tomb and decided to join her. Oli knelt on the opposite side and began to slowly circulate his energy.

Ania noticed the boy but only smiled when she realized that he was just like Dioro, obsessed with cultivation. Both of them cultivated into the night and soon Oli fell asleep. With a smile on her face, she got up and walked over to her son. He was too big now to easily carry without waking him, so instead, she laid down next to him to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

* * * * *

Morning came and went as most of the gorillas returned to their cultivation. Some left to gather fruits or berries for the entire clan and save those cultivating some more time.

Oli woke up extra early and waited for the sunrise so that he could make his way to Trada’s cave. He arrived right on time and was again told to enter before getting a chance to ask himself.

Trada was still in her bed with her wings wrapped around the egg.

What shocked Oli was the formation that was laid out across the floor. It was huge, covering almost one-fourth of the cave floor. It was already covered by purple and black flames that lit up the entire cave.

The pattern looked like a stack of three shapes, with a star as a base, a triangle that pointed down between the bottom two ends of the star, and a small circle in the middle of it all. Oli showed his excitement as he ran to the center of the inner circle and began the energy circulation exercise.

Trada was at a loss for words because Oli had already started to do everything he needed without further guidance. For the time being Trada didn’t need to do anything, so she rested and waited for Oli to ask a question in case he needed help understanding something.

Oli understood how the exercise worked thanks to his experience with soul exercises, so it didn’t take long for Oli to begin feeling the essence of the world around him. He could particularly feel the untapped energy within the earth and how the energy was unmovable while resting yet unstoppable when in motion. That’s what Oli focused on, feeling the earth and increasing his sensitivity to its limits.

He also felt something strange and almost inexplicable from the world around him. This type of energy was scarce yet no amount of earth essence or any other essence type was able to block it out. It gave off the feeling of superiority as if that kind of energy was above the rest and unable to be stopped.

Oli peeked at the sleeping Trada and decided to ask her later. He then began to try and circulate the earth essence around him, as well as the mystery essence since Oli felt it would be a waste to not cultivate another essence type if given the chance.

The day passed by slowly and Oli’s control over essence progressed a lot thanks to the formation. As night approached, Oli let out a deep breath and bowed to the still sleeping Trada before he went back to his mom for a quick meal of some fruit and some much-needed sleep.