Chapter 9 - Defying the Heavens
Tian Longmeng received the instruction that to use the Ark, he would have to channel his thoughts to the Ark. Of course, Tian Longmeng could not accomplish this on his own but through the intercession of the Ark Elder; he could access an extremely minute portion of the Ark.
Tian Longmeng concentrated all of his thoughts and focused on the Ark in his hands. After about an incense stick of time, the Ark finally had a reaction.
Suddenly, the Ark Elder sprouted from the Ark of the Majesty. He looked very transparent, befitting the status of a remnant soul.
He analyzed the place for a while before smiling and turning to Tian Longmeng. "Not a bad place, if you cultivated here, you could obtain the power to crush planets with your mere thoughts."
Tian Longmeng was used to hearing that he was in a place with unimaginable things; however, that still shook him to the core. A power capable of crushing a planet, with a thought? That is insane!
Tian Longmeng thought that once one embarked upon the world of martial arts, they would eventually be able to do surreal things such as moving oceans and cleaving mountains. However, crushing a planet seemed like too drastic of a feat to accomplish, more so, with one's thoughts.
"But doing that normally would take you forever in your situation," the Ark Elder reminded briefly. Tian Longmeng felt his mood crumble upon that wake-up call.
It was a constant shadow that loomed over his heart. No matter what his dreams were, they would be nothing in front of his pathetic talent.
"Why so down," the Ark Elder turned an eye to the downcast Tian Longmeng. "So what if you have talent worse than an insect? All you have to do is train yourself into the dragon that can soar above the heavens!"
The Ark Elder's words lit a flame within Tian Longmeng. "Yeah, so what! If the heavens abandon me, then I will just have to shatter the heavens," Tian Longmeng bellowed to the sky.
"Excellent statement, young boy!" The Ark Elder was elated to hear Tian Longmeng's verbal display of determination and was now sure, more than ever, that this child would one day change the course of the vast heavens.
He then directed Tian Longmeng, "go into that pond and meditate there. Normally, a cultivator who tried to absorb essence from this pond would find their vessels and organs shredded to bits." "But, since you have little to no talent and you haven't cultivated before, you should be able to move through it with minimal difficulty."
The Ark Elder quickly glossed over the potential dangers to the now terrified Tian Longmeng and quickly reaffirmed him. "There is a saying that one would find dangers equal to the opportunities they find." "You, young boy, are seeking a heaven-defying opportunity so obviously you would face an equally heaven-defying danger."
"I understand senior, what should I do?" Tian Longmeng thought about it for a while. What the Ark Elder said was perfectly reasonable. No meal was free in this world, and Tian Longmeng knew that firsthand due to his hunting experience.
The Ark Elder, once again pleased with Tian Longmeng's decisiveness, decided to continue his instructions. "When you go into the pond, try to feel for the same energy you felt in the Ark. It is called essence, use it and direct it all over your body. Afterwards, let it soak in your muscles and then you should try and seize the essence for your own."
Seizing essence? That sounded like trying to steal from the heavens directly, and that thought is not far from the truth. However, Tian Longmeng had to do it. If he wanted to one day be at the apex, he would have to defy the heavens eventually. So why not now?
Tian Longmeng placed a foot into the pond and straightway, a massive surge of power wisped into his body. "Ugh." Tian Longmeng's face grimaced as he stiffened a bit.
It seemed that the essence was just passing through his body. To other people, that essence would have stayed and rampaged inside their bodies with full force, killing them or even blowing them to pieces. Tian Longmeng persisted in reaching the middle of the pond, which he later succeeded in doing with minimal difficulty.
Upon reaching the center, Tian Longmeng noticed two things. One, the pond was actually very deep, reaching probably more than 12 feet. That was way deeper than the pond by the waterfall. Secondly, the water in the pond was very dense, as represented by Tian Longmeng's flailing as a desperate measure not to drown.
"Pfft!" Tian Longmeng was annoyed by a certain sound of laughter that just so coincidentally came from where he left the Ark of the Majesty. He chose to ignore it and focus on letting the essence flow into his body.
Tian Longmeng meditated in the center of the pond for an hour now. He did not try to seize any of the essence flowing into him and allowed for it to freely circulate throughout his body. As Tian Longmeng got used to the sensation of essence freely moving in his body, was the more he subconsciously submerged himself into the pond.
However, the Ark Elder did not try to stop him for fear of him drowning. This was simply because Tian Longmeng no longer needed to breathe at that moment. He was curled up with his knees to his chest and his hands wrapped around them. It was as if Tian Longmeng went back to his natal form, devoid of worldly impurities.
The Ark Elder looked at all of this and could not help but to smile. "It was originally supposed to be seizing the essence through bitter struggle. I would never imagine such a terrifying level of suction power."