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Chapter 38 - The Elowen Cultivation Journey Has Only Just Begun

The wind bore a frigid whisper, slicing through the stillness that hung between them. Nael stood rooted to the spot, arms folded across his chest as though the entire world were a tired play he'd watched a thousand times over. His bandaged eyes, keen as blades, locked onto Elowen. No warmth lingered in them—only a glacial indifference that seemed to devour the light around him.

"Let's go," his voice boomed, low and unyielding, like thunder that rolls without seeking approval.

Elowen halted. A tremor stirred within her, a restless heat pulsing from her chest up to her throat. She lifted her hand—a small, unassuming motion, yet brimming with a quiet power that spoke louder than words.

"Just a moment," her voice emerged steady, almost gentle, but threaded with a steel resolve that thickened the air between them.

Nael remained motionless, a figure carved from flesh and bone, his gaze tracking her every shift like a predator too assured to give chase. He offered no reply, but the taut flicker in his stare revealed what his rigid stance concealed: he was alert. Not out of intrigue, but instinct. To him, the pause she claimed was merely another fleeting ripple in an ocean he'd long since charted.

She sank to the ground, legs crossed, hands resting lightly on her knees. The earth beneath her was unyielding, chilled, but Elowen paid it no mind. She shut her eyes, and the world fell away. The wind stilled. The faint rustle of dry leaves being swept off into the distance dissolved. All faded into a vast, unbroken void, as if the universe itself had paused its breath just for her.

In the shadowed recesses of her mind, a golden spark flared to life. The system's consciousness took form—a regal bird soaring above her, its wings unfurled like a blazing sky.

"Use the points. Enter the state. I will guide you," the bird's voice pierced the silence, crisp and commanding, as though fate were a trinket gripped in its talons.

All right, Elowen thought, and released her destiny points, letting them spill from her soul like water bursting through a shattered dam. Time froze. The weight of existence slipped from her shoulders, leaving her alone with the essence of herself.

And then, it began.

Chaos surged into her like a untamed river, tearing through her being with relentless force. Every muscle, every bone, every fragment of her quivered, reshaping itself into something grander, something timeless. Pain followed in its wake—sharp, merciless, as if her skin were being peeled away to stitch something new in its place. She bit down on her lip until the tang of blood bloomed on her tongue, her fists trembling against her thighs.

I can handle it, she told herself, teeth gritted as sweat traced hot, briny paths down her face.

Unfamiliar runes flickered in her inner sight, etching themselves into her flesh and spirit like fiery brands. The energy seared, cleansed, transfigured. When it subsided, she opened her eyes and felt it: the Foundation Establishment Domain. Her body was no longer merely hers—it was a living stronghold, poised to defy the impossible.

But she couldn't stop there. Driven by an urge she couldn't name—something throbbing in her veins like a far-off echo, perhaps Nael's blood—she plunged deeper, beyond the edges of reason.

In the Core Formation Domain, her core took shape. It wasn't the golden hue promised to prodigies in ancient texts, but a shimmering silver—a fluid mirror of illusion and fate. It whirled within her, sending ripples that shook her spiritual sea. And what a sea it was: three hundred meters of raw, vibrant life, a wild expanse where flowers glowed like scattered stars, encircling a palace that seemed hewn by divine hands.

It's beautiful, she thought, her chest tight with a wonder too vast for words.

In the Spiritual Pillars Domain, she scoffed at convention. Nine pillars? Child's play. Elowen summoned eighty-one, each one ablaze with light that cleaved the shadows. The strain threatened to break her, but she stood unbowed, eyes wide, her heartbeat thundering like a call to battle.

Next came the Purple Mansion, a leap that elevated her garden into the realm of the sacred. The palace swelled, its walls rising tall and defiant, radiating an aura that set the air humming. Then, the Soul Awakening unfurled. Her soul bloomed like a flower—golden, flawless—with silver eyes that peered through the veil of time, cradled atop a green lotus pulsing with tranquility.

"Impressive," the bird intoned, a rare note of esteem warming its icy timbre.

Yet the true summit arrived in the Dao Establishment Domain. Silence draped over her like a hallowed shroud, deep and reverent. The energy within her coalesced into a serene vortex, and there, in the heart of the abyss, something emerged. Her Dao. A fragile flame, spun from destiny, illusion, and life—delicate enough to flicker out with a sigh, yet mighty enough to bend the world to its will.

It's mine, she thought, tears pricking her eyes as every part of her aligned with that radiant truth.

In the Divine Domain, her Dao solidified, a melody she could finally grasp. In the Master Domain, it matured, honing her until the air itself swayed at her touch. And in the Grandmaster Domain, it fused with her essence—a force that made reality quiver, as if destiny had bowed to her as its peer.

She could have pressed on to the Lower Saint Domain, but she chose to pause. Not from exhaustion, but wisdom. Cultivation wasn't just power—it was knowing when to bide her time. Her foundation stood firm, unshakable as a mountain.

When her eyes opened, the world had shifted. It gleamed sharper, pulsed with life, yet felt distant, as though she'd ascended to a plane few could touch. The King Domain was her sanctuary now.

No one below me can reach me, she thought, the strength roaring through her veins as the air bent to her will like a loyal attendant.

She rose slowly, the ground quaking faintly beneath her steps. Nael lingered there still, his bandaged eyes betraying no hint of feeling. But the slight tilt of his head spoke where words did not.

"Did you finish?" His voice cut through the quiet like a honed edge.

"Yes, for now," she answered, her tone steady yet laced with a shiver that hinted at the magnitude of her transformation.

Hey, Bird, show my status, she requested silently. A luminous screen flickered into being before her, ethereal and vibrant, unveiling the being she had become.

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⚜️ 𝒮𝒯𝒜𝒯𝒰𝒮 𝒪𝐹 𝐸𝐿𝒪𝒲𝐸𝒩 – 𝐸𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒟𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓂𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓁𝓈 ⚜️

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✦✧✦ 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓎 ✦✧✦

↣ Name: Elowen

↣ Age: 20 years

↣ Race: Supreme Human / Luminaris

↣ Lineages:

   ➤ Luminaris

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✦✧✦ 𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 ✦✧✦

↣ Soul Category: Soul of the Celestial Destiny of the Primordials

⚡ Connecting with the original forces of destiny, enabling the reshaping of past and future without limits.

↣ Exclusive Ability: Molding and rewriting any event, choice, or possibility.

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✦✧✦ 𝒟𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝒮𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓂 ✦✧✦

↣ Destiny Points: 200 Trillion

↣ Main Functions:

   ✧ Total Destiny Reconfiguration: Transforming events and outcomes as desired.

   ✧ Alteration of Cosmic Laws: Rewriting natural laws in any dimension or reality.

   ✧ Creation of New Worlds: Forging complete universes based on will.

   ✧ Temporal Connection: Controlling the flow of time, allowing travel, pausing, and revising history.

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✦✧✦ 𝒞𝓊𝓁𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒟𝑜𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃 ✦✧✦

↣ Current Domain: Grandmaster

↣ Realm: 9th level (peak)

↣ Cultivation Method: Supreme Reincarnation Technique (Not Cultivated)

↣ Current State: In development, unlimited potential.

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✦✧✦ 𝒫𝒽𝓎𝓈𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝐵𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝒟𝑜𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃 ✦✧✦

𝒮𝓊𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝐼𝓁𝓁𝓊𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈

   ➳ Description: Forged from the pure essence of illusions, enabling control and transformation of the unreal into the real.

   ➳ Capabilities:

     ✦ Total Alteration of Illusory Reality: Creating, modifying, or extinguishing concepts and elements.

     ✦ Union between Illusion and Reality: Dissolving barriers, making the illusory tangible.

     ✦ Command over Fundamental Concepts: Managing time, space, life, death, chaos, and order in the illusory universe. 

𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓂𝑜𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝐼𝓂𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝐵𝑜𝒹𝓎

   ➳ Description: Transcending mortality, symbolizing eternity.

   ➳ Capabilities:

     ✦ Infinite Regeneration: Reborning fully even after total destruction.

     ✦ Exceptional Attributes: Providing strength, speed, endurance, and perception superior to any being.

     ✦ Absolute Immunity: Ensuring invulnerability against damage, poisons, or curses.

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✦✧✦ 𝒮𝓊𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒 𝒜𝒷𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓈 ✦✧✦

Soul of the Celestial Destiny of the Primordials

   ➤ Passives:

     ✧ Omniscience of Destiny: Fully perceiving the threads that weave the destiny of beings and universes.

     ✧ Invulnerability to Destiny: Preventing any external influence from altering the path.

   ➤ Actives:

     ✧ Web of Destiny: Influencing billions of destinies simultaneously.

     ✧ Rewriting the Future: Modifying events to achieve desired outcomes.

     ✧ Redefining the Past: Reconfiguring history as if it had always been different.

From the Supreme Body of Illusions:

   ➤ Passives:

     ✧ Absolute Dominion over Illusions: Creating and dissolving illusory universes without limits.

     ✧ Realism in Simulation: Transforming illusions into experiences indistinguishable from reality.

   ➤ Actives:

     ✧ Labyrinth of Souls: Trapping beings in endless illusions.

     ✧ Illusory Rupture: Dissolving the thin line between the real and the illusory.

     ✧ Alteration of Illusory Elements: Modifying any concept within illusions.

From the Primordial Immortal Body:

   ➤ Passives:

     ✧ Perennial Existence: Becoming inaccessible to any attempt at extinction.

     ✧ Total Resistance: Preventing any damage—physical, spiritual, or conceptual—from affecting.

   ➤ Actives:

     ✧ Rising from the Ashes: Rebuilding fully even after complete annihilation.

     ✧ Primordial Strength: Releasing energy capable of disintegrating stars with a single blow.

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✦✧✦ 𝒞𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒞𝑜𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 ✦✧✦

↣ Current State: Extremely weakened in the present stage

↣ Limitations: Relying exclusively on innate talent and the destiny system to evolve, without external resources or relics.

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✦✧✦ 𝒾𝓃𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 ✦✧✦

↣ Available Resources: None

↣ Possessed Relics: None

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The air thrummed with life, dense and heavy, as if each particle cradled a secret on the verge of unfolding. Her heart beat strong and steady, a muted drum reverberating in her chest—not with fear, but with something fiercer, a flame kindling brighter with every line of her status.

"Supreme Human/Supreme Luminaris," she murmured, and a rush of warmth flooded her veins, as if her blood answered an ancient summons. "Sealed lineages…" It felt like a vow held captive, a storm locked in shadow, biding its time to split the heavens.

Energy coursed through her in waves—electric, alive—dancing beneath her skin. "Omniscience of Destiny, Absolute Manipulation, Law Alteration…" Good Lord, it was as if she cradled the cosmos—not in her hands, but within her, thrumming, yearning to be sculpted.

Then the numbers hit: 100 quadrillion and 200 trillion destiny points. Ludicrous. Unfathomable. Yet deep in her core, she knew each one was a star in a firmament she was fated to reorder.

And the final strike: "Soul of the Celestial Destiny of the Beginnings." Her breath caught. To bind herself to destiny, to rewrite time… It wasn't mere power—it was a mantle, a burden she felt down to her marrow, yet it set her spirit soaring.

How does one bear this without shattering? she wondered, staring into the abyss.

The "Supreme Body of Illusions" struck her like a bolt. "Within your illusions, all can be created, altered, or undone." She closed her eyes, and the air around her shivered, as if unseen shapes sprang to life at her whim. A spark raced across her skin, hot and piercing.

"Infinite Regeneration, Eternal Existence." She couldn't be snuffed out. She was more than flesh—she was a concept, a resonance time could never mute. It unnerved her, yet it fueled her fire.

The Supreme Abilities sealed her fate: "Soul Labyrinth, Web of Destiny, Past Redefinition." Each title rang like a clarion, proof she wasn't just anyone—she was singular, a stray thread in the universe's weave.

Her hands shook as she finished—not from frailty, but from a hunger too vast to contain. The world felt like a brittle plaything now, dwarfed by the inferno swelling inside her.

"You're fascinated, aren't you?" The Bird's voice sliced through the hush, light as a breeze yet heavy with unspoken weight.

"Yes," she rasped, her voice rough, almost feral. "Who wouldn't be? This is bigger than the gods."

It laughed—a quick, cutting sound.

"True. But be wary, Elowen. Power cuts both ways. It can carve the world or carve you. Grow into it before you wield it."

Its words lingered, a tether she didn't want to release. Not a caution, but a gauntlet thrown.

The status faded from view, and the air buzzed, charged with possibility. She stood still, basking in the tempest she bore. One step forward, and the earth quivered faintly, as if it recognized her. She felt it all: destiny, illusion, eternity. It belonged to her now.

She turned her gaze to Nael. He hadn't budged—an ice-carved sentinel—but his eyes bore into her, cold and fathomless, probing her soul.

"Finished admiring yourself?" His voice slashed through, sharp and devoid of softness.

"For now," she shot back, a fleeting smile flickering before it faded. "Let's go. I still have much to uncover."

He said nothing, simply turned and strode off, his cloak grazing the ground like a living shade. Nael was an enigma, a chasm she couldn't plumb. But fear didn't touch her.

You might be a riddle, she thought, trailing his steps, but I'm a force. And I'll unravel what you conceal.

The wind lashed cold against her face, but she grinned. The universe had issued its challenge.

And she was ready.

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