40. Peak third order

In the third week of cultivation, things began to change within the kingdom as word from the traders that only appeared in their remote village ,at most once a week, began to spread information that wasn't good.

Since Treehaven village was so remote from the nearest towns or cities, the information the peddlers and merchants brought was very outdated most of the time.

For instance, the war that seemed to have just begun 2 weeks ago, had actually begun around a month ago.

And the information that spread recently was that it seemed the Sunset kingdom seemed to be already at a loss against the Zerean kingdom.

No matter how short the timeframe was, it was as if the Zerean kingdom had been planning their attack for a while now, and were fully prepared for this war.

Osiris had thought that the Sunset kingdom would be in trouble when he thought the Zerean kingdom had their own fourth order, but when he heard the news, he knew the situation was much worse than expected.

And factoring in how outdated the news might be, Osiris expected that this kingdom might not have long left before destruction, maybe a couple months at most if the kingdom puts all their resources into defense.

However, even with all this building pressure, Osiris knew that he was already doing all that he could for the time being, racing to become the strongest he can.

In the fourth week of hunting and cultivation, Osiris made a large breakthrough to the peak of the third order.

His bloodline and body became much stronger, his marrow producing blood that nourishes his entire body, making his heart, brain, and all parts of his body and organs grow healthy and stronger with each circulation of blood.

But like always, unlike what most do when reaching the peak of their respective order, Osiris sealed his growth in order to finish the third and last layer of the rebirth technique.

Gathering mana for an entire week, not using it for cultivation or any expenditure in the slightest, Osiris filled his body's mana capacity to its current maximum.

And finally on the first day of the sixth week, Osiris found himself in the bottom of a deep ravine in the third circle that stretched on for miles, akin to a small scar tearing through the otherwise lush and beautiful Dusk forest.

Osiris felt secure in this ravine since it led deep enough into the planet to where even third order beasts would die should they jump straight in.

And another reason he chose a ravine was because he had learned his lesson from staying in caves, as his growth spurt would leave him trapped within.

Laying down on the bottom of this abyssal black ravine, which was so deep that even light failed to reach the bottom, Osiris lay within.

Curled up into his usual position where he felt the most comfortable, Osiris checked his surroundings one last time, looking around with his eyesight that could see anything even without light, he looked at the desolate landscape.

Feeling content, he finally closed his eyes and took deep breaths, preparing for the pain that would be unbearable for even some of the strongest beings.

But when he thought about the gains in strength and power that it brought him, as well as the smiles of his precious wives that he vowed to protect, Osiris felt that all the pain and hardship that he went through was worth it.

One last breath, Osiris willed the untamed mana within himself into his blood and marrow.

The first sensation he received was always pain.

Unbearable pain that would bring the strong willed to tears within seconds, giving up on their journey to strength.

And though the last layer of the rebirth technique wasnt as dangerous as the second layer,  it was as if not more painful then it was.

The reason being was because his body became a true furnace as the blood within his body boiled, literally evaporating and steaming out between the cracks of his scales atop his hide.

The ravine began to be filled with a fog of red, the smell of blood unbearably rich and pungent, causing those with weaker stomachs to heave should they even be nearby.

And Osiris as the source of this phenomenon looked as though he was a volcanic rock that had been thrown into a shallow stream of water, billowing out steam at a rapid pace.

He gritted his teeth in determination and exasperation as he felt his body burned with a maniac heat, and his body began to shrink like a rag being squeezed of all its moisture.

After around 30 minutes of torture, Osiris resembled a husk of his former vitality, his figure that of skin being draped and hung upon a skeleton.

With the last drops of his blood being reduced to vapor, the remaining mana only had one place left to go, which was his marrow within his bones.

The formation and density of his bones made another change from his previous refinement within the second order.

His bones, which he could sense, had already begun to resemble a precious golden color that shines with the vicissitudes of a mana rich hue.

Now however his golden bones seemed to become an ethereal golden-jade color that shined with a divine glow, as well as lines that seemed to naturally carve an array along his bones.

And after an hour of marrow and bone refinement, along with the carving of the mural like natural formation, Osiris finally took a breath of relief as his pain and suffering came to an end after what seemed like an eternity.

His body's natural regeneration began to take over and his bones began producing blood at a rapid rate.

However, what was noticeable about his blood now, was that instead of its usual deep red typical of all lifeforms.

Osiris's new blood was now a deep and rich gold, akin to that of a divine being.