Chapter 14 Archon Heart

Azrael's body didn't grow much in two years so now he looked like a normal 5-year-old. In these two years, Azrael had already reached the peak stage of the third realm in all three paths. The Mana, Mystic, and Essence Sensing realms were the easiest for him because he could see energies from birth. In the Mana Gathering realm, he had to absorb the surrounding mana and form mana clouds inside his lower dantian. Usually, cultivators can only form 1 mana cloud for each stage in the Mana Gathering realm, totaling 9 mana clouds at the peak stage. Azrael on the other hand practiced the Limitless Cosmos Formation technique and had to form 9 mana clouds for each stage before merging them in one i.e. he formed a total of 81 mana clouds before merging them into 9 mana clouds. Compared to a normal cultivator, he had 9 times more mana.

The Mystic Gathering realm followed a similar principle, a cultivator had to absorb mystic energy from their surroundings and had to form mystic runes in their upper dantian. They have to form 1 mystic rune for each stage totaling 9 mystic runes at the peak of the Mystic Gathering realm. Azrael felt he could use the same method he had used in the Mana Gathering Realm and formed a total of 81 mystic runes before merging them into 9 mystic runes. His 9 mystic runes were different from the normal ones, so he called them greater mystic runes.

For the Essence Gathering realm, he had to gather essence in his heart and let it travel to every part of his body with his blood. He had to do 1 such cycle for each stage thoroughly infusing his body with essence after 9 cycles. He wanted to keep all three paths even because he had a feeling that he would be unable of forming a Paragon Heart if they weren't so he went through 81 cycles. By the end of the 81 cycles, he could hardly move because he felt too full. He had to breakthrough to the Essence Body Condensation so that he could move. In the Essence Body Condensation realm, a cultivator has to destroy their body before rebuilding it so that the essence that was infused before becomes a part of the body. This process has to be completed 9 times, one for each stage. Azrael had to endure this 81 times because he had completed 81 cycles in the previous realm. After he reached the peak of the Essence Body Condensation realm, some new information appeared in his mind but it was sealed. He instinctively knew that could only open the seal after reaching the peak stage of the Mystic Soul Condensation realm.

In the Mana Condensation realm, a cultivator has to condense the 9 mana clouds into a single drop of liquid mana. They have to condense 1 drop of mana for every stage totaling 9 drops at the peak of this realm. Azrael condensed 9 drops at every stage and now has 81 drops of mana in his lower dantian.

In the Mystic Soul Condensation realm, a cultivator has to brand 1 of the 9 mystic runes they had formed earlier on their soul. They have to brand 1 rune for every stage. The runes slowly transform the soul into a Mystic Soul. The branding process is very painful, but after it is over the cultivator feels a sense of tranquility. Some might even gain an epiphany. For Azreal, the branding process was life-threatening as he did something crazy. Instead of branding 1 rune at a time, he branded all of them at the same time. His soul would have been overloaded if he didn't have his Soul Constitution. Just after this process was over, he broke the seal on the extra information that had appeared in his mind. He fell into a state of epiphany, comprehending the information. The information was about the abilities granted to him by his bloodline. If it had been another time, Azrael would have to spend a long time comprehending these abilities but in a state of epiphany, he comprehended all of them except two as they were too strong for the current him.

Azrael didn't just cultivate all this time. He became very close to Lily because they spent most of their time together. Lionel taught them the Immortal Battle God Arts, the signature technique of the Immortal Battle God Sect. The Immortal Battle God Arts is a renowned series of combat exercises. It is a sacred collection of martial techniques passed down through generations, honed, and perfected by their predecessors. As time passed, Immortal Battle God Arts kept on evolving and became what they are today. These arts encompass a wide range of combat styles, each tailored to different weapons, elemental affinities, and fighting philosophies.

Lionel also taught them about the Way of the Paragon. He taught them that one doesn't become a Paragon just by practicing a Paragon Art or by practicing the three paths simultaneously. One must have an unwavering will and belief in themselves. They must have self-confidence but not arrogance. And most importantly, they must remember that there is always someone stronger.

Azrael remembered when he told his grandfather about him owning a Paragon Art. He thought that his Grandpa would be angry with him but his reaction was the complete opposite. He laughed so hard that even the Outer Sect members could hear his laughter. He went to his grandfather and told him that he would create his Paragon Heart today. He had another crazy idea after he comprehended his bloodline abilities. Instead of just merging his three dantians into a second heart, he also wanted to fuse his two hearts. This would be impossible without his Longevity talent but with it, there was a 50% chance of success.

Azrael PoV,

Grandpa took me to Mt.Ascension. It was the place where Ascending Tribulation experts ascended to the Immortal Battle God Sect in the Immortal Realms. I sat on the peak of Mt.Ascension wearing just a pair of shorts. Grandpa, Dad, and big sis Lily were observing from afar. Grandpa said that watching me create my Paragon Heart would be an enlightening experience for them. But I could see that big sis Lily's face was red. I emptied my head of all useless thoughts and divided my consciousness into two parts. One focused on my surroundings and the other focused on my dantians. I could feel that the three dantians were separate organs of my body. Creating a Paragon Heart is a very personal process so the Paragon Arts don't specify the exact process. The only information available is that one must fuse the three dantians into a second heart with the meridians as the veins and arteries. I thought for some time, how can I fuse my dantians? I reviewed my entire cultivation journey, starting from my past life and then it hit me.

The one thing that could merge my dantians seamlessly was the Fatal Painforged Rebirth. It had even merged his Bloodline Sources when he was in the womb so it could definitely do so with his dantians. I focused on my dantians and meridians and started crushing them. The process was so painful that I almost passed out. At that moment I knew that it was the right decision to brand all the 9 mystic runes at the same time. Going through that was the only reason that I am alive right now.

The process was slow. I could feel that I was bleeding from all my orifices. I crushed them until they looked like blobs of very thick blood. I transferred the four blobs to the right side of my chest and started operating Fata Painforged Rebirth. Under the operation, I could feel the four blobs merging with each other into a bigger blob of golden-red blood. When they merged, the part of my consciousness that was focusing on my surroundings saw that lightning clouds had started gathering above me. A bolt of purple-gold lighting struck the right side of my chest opening a hole in it and exposing the golden-red blob. Lightning bolts started striking the golden-red blob. The blob of golden-red blood started decreasing in size. A total of 81 lightning bolts struck me before the clouds started dispersing.

I knew that it was time to start my plan. I crushed my heart into a blob of flesh and blood. Then I merged the two blobs using the method as before. I had an intuition and transferred my soul into this blob. The clouds that had started dispersing gathered once again but this time they had an ominous feeling to them. A bolt of golden-black lightning struck me and it destroyed my body completely. Only the blob with my soul in it was left. Lightning started striking the blob continuously decreasing its size. My soul started absorbing the residual lightning. After 729 lightning bolts had struck the blob, its size had decreased until it was similar to a ping pong ball. Its color had changed into dark purple with specks of light that looked like stars. My soul had also changed but I couldn't point it out. Then a change occurred that scared the living shit out of me. My soul started disintegrating into particles and fused with the blob until only my consciousness was left. I was going to die but then my Longevity talent activated.

The blob started to solidify into a heart. when it was solidified, it started absorbing all the energy in the surrounding area, forming a cocoon. Inside the cocoon, the heart started to form the body of a baby. I felt as if I had turned into a fetus once again. I don't know how much time had passed when my body was completely formed. Then it started growing until I looked like a 2.5-year-old baby, my current age.

I could feel that my body has changed fundamentally. Every single cell of my body contains an embryo. I don't know what these embryos will grow into but I can feel pieces of my soul inside every embryo. I was shocked to discover that these pieces had turned into individual souls. They have formed a hive mind with my consciousness as the leader. My computing power has reached an unfathomable level but it consumes too much energy. I can decide how much of my computing power I want to use. Right now even 1% is too much. Maybe after breaking through to the Foundation Building realm I might be able to use 1% of my computing power.

I absorbed all the energy from the cocoon and it disintegrated. I feel as if my Paragon Heart is different and stronger than other Paragon Hearts and the name Paragon Heart doesn't do it justice. After getting inspired by my bloodline I have decided to call it the Archon Heart. The path that I take won't be one of an ordinary Paragon. I will become a Paragon even amongst other Paragons, I will become an Archon.

Azrael PoV End

When the cocoon had formed, Lionel was very confused because he had witnessed the formation of a Paragon Heart before and it wasn't supposed to be like this. He didn't know what his grandson had done but he still shivered with anticipation of what his grandson would achieve. He built himself a simple cottage near the cocoon and started living in it. He sent Felix back after assuring him that Azrael was going to be okay. Lily insisted on staying with him, saying that it would affect her training if he didn't teach her every day. But he knew the real reason she wanted to stay with him was because she was also very worried about Azrael. He had seen her blushing after training with Azrael countless times. It had been nine months since the cocoon had formed. Lionel could feel intense life fluctuations from the cocoon so he knew that Azrael was safe but that didn't stop him from worrying.

One day the cocoon suddenly disintegrated and only a baby about 2.5 years old was left in its place. Lionel knew that the baby was Azrael and rushed towards him before hugging him. He took a good look at Azrael and discovered that he had changed physically. His heterochromatic eyes had turned into a pair of eyes that seemed to contain entire cosmos inside them. His jet-black hair had turned into a midnight blue color that seemed to carry the starry sky within it. All of his muscles had disappeared but all the strength remained. Lionel didn't know how, but Azrael had turned even cuter. He gave him some clothes that were too big for him. Azrael wanted to walk on his own but Lionel refused to let him go and said "Don't even think of escaping me without telling me about what you did. You should ready your butt 'cause you're gonna get a spanking that you will never forget from your mom." He carried Azrael back to the cottage. When Lily saw them both she ran towards them. Lionel put Azrael down and Lily wrapped him in a bear hug. Azrael could feel that Lily had started crying. He was at a loss about what to do because he had never dealt with a similar situation. Then Lily faced and said in a serious tone "Promise me that you won't ever do something like this again." Azrael wanted to say something but Lily interrupted in a slightly angry tone "Promise me!" Azrael nodded and said, "I promise that I won't do something this dangerous without telling anyone beforehand." Lily nodded with satisfaction before she realized what Azrael said. She wanted to beat him up but he was already gone. Then an angry shout echoed throughout the Sect, "AZRAEL PRIMIS REX, DON'T LET ME FIND YOU OR I WILL KILL YOU!"

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Author's Note:

Hey guys, I hope you like the novel.

I forgot to add the Mana, Essence, and Mystic Gathering realms in the auxiliary chapters but I have updated them.

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