Ancient Dream Chart
Back in Harun's pagoda, Jiyan explained the circumstances of her desertion, revealing that even she didn't know the condition her chains followed. Unless she triggered it by mistake, only when she reached the Heavenly God Realm or the seventh layer of her art would the condition reveal itself. Perhaps the condition was restrictive enough that the Heaven Warding Emperor feared that once Jiyan's parents discovered it, they'd rather destroy her cultivation of the art and have her start over than continue? Or maybe his considerations were entirely different. In any case, a bomb hid in Jiyan's heart, ready to go off at the slightest misstep—even with his Incarnation Seed and Agiri's Will supporting her, Harun couldn't suppress his worries. Jiyan, however, remained undisturbed—never one to care for events she had no control on.
In turn, Harun revealed a few of the Golden Token's features, such as the ability to reward him with resources and its unbreakable link with his life. After all, Jiyan was no fool. Once unique devices and sect wonders started popping out of nowhere, her brain would connect the dots. He might as well take the opportunity to cement the bridge of trust between them. However, he didn't mention scourge and other features yet, unwilling to overwhelm his partner. But as he spoke, Harun realized he'd made a terrible mistake, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"System, I can set up to nine objectives, correct?"
"Correct."
"There is no limitation on the type of objective I set. But the appraisal, timeframe and rewards are all up to you, correct?"
"Correct."
"If I wait until reincarnation, all of my scourge gains are forever multiplied by three."
"Correct."
"But I don't have to, and can start now."
"Correct. However, you're more than 24 hours late. So if you choose to initialize the Main Quest and start now, I have to punish you for the delay. According to the Ancestral One's rule, for every day you go without setting up the new task, I must take 25% of your vitality. At the fourth, you die."
"What do you base your appraisal on?"
"A balance between cultivation base and difficulty. However, there's a hard cap on the time I can give you. The lower the objective number, the less time I can give. And if for some reason your brain and mental faculty get paralyzed, all counters stop."
Hearing this, Harun's eyes lit up, and he smacked his cheeks in frustration.
"I am an idiot!" The move and words threw Jiyan into confusion, making her wonder what devil was playing tricks in Harun's mind. But how could she understand the sorrow currently striking the poor lad? From the moment the system defined scourge points, Harun racked his brain to come up with ways to defeat his future tribulations. But no matter how prepared, unless he could kill people over two realms above his own, with the scourge points he was about to get pre-reincarnation, Harun couldn't see how he'd survive his first tribulation. Best case scenario, he got 2,000 scourge points times three, or 6,000 points—increasing the might of his first tribulation by 60,000%. Who could defeat that? And even if he could, what about the future? So, Harun couldn't accept the system's offer, and had to initialize everything now!
Didn't he have nine slots? Who said all nine slots were required to complete the main quest? While Harun would definitely have to gradually set up his objectives to avoid overwhelming himself with impossible tasks, and to pile up as many rewards and boons from the system as possible, nothing prevented him from sacrificing one slot to avoid his current predicament!
"So according to what you said, I'd lose 50% vitality now?"
"Correct. And it doesn't regenerate until you complete the quest," the system replied, and immediately, Harun burst into laughter, "First Objective...Initialization!
Description: The Golden Token Host's current cultivation base is too weak to survive the attention of the 33 Heavens hegemonic and noble clans. To ensure the completion of the main quest, the Host must first vanish from his enemies sight, return to the shadows, and from there build his force.
Objective: Convince the 33 Heavens' token holders of the host's death through any means necessary.
How does that sound, System?" Harun asked, and a silent followed as the system appraised the task.
"And here I was wondering when I'd have to find myself another host. Oh well...First Objective...Activation!
Timeframe: One year.
Reward: Scripture Drafting Altar, 100 Poisonous Herbs, 1 Gradeless Gold-Silkworm Jar." Harun was beside himself with joy. While he couldn't guess the exact herbs he'd receive upon quest completion, the Gradeless Golden Silkworm Jar alone more than made up for his troubles. All Plaguebringers of note were masters at breeding venomous beasts. Golden Silkworm Jars were fundamental tools in venomous beast rearing. Experts would gather the most dreadful specimen they could and trap them in the jar to fight until only one remained. The jar's unique essence enabled the victorious insects to devour their victims' abilities, granting the victorious specimen numerous noxious skills. However, the beasts' grades could never exceed the Jar's level. Weak beasts could benefit from a high-grade Jar. But strong beasts would always make the jar explode—unleashing the dreadful creatures on their breeder.
For Plaguebringers, the Gradeless Jar was a legendary artifact, enabling them to trap beasts of all levels without having to fear backlashes. Although it didn't provide them with outstanding boons, that ability alone was more than worth it. Even in the Noxious Flame World, Golden Silkworm Jars were rare treasures monopolized by the top-ranking sect. Harun had never heard of one above the five-star grade, and his homeworld didn't have three such jars.
At first confused by the erratic bouts Harun seemed to have fallen into, Jiyan realized that it must have been related to the Golden Token, and didn't probe further.
---
[Sect Name: Unnamed Sect]
[Sect Master: Harun Erdewan]
[Sect Size: Hamlet]
[Outer Disciples: 0]
[Inner Disciples: 0]
[Elders: 1]
[Sect Ground Level: Nonexistent]
[Sect Path: Undecided]
[Reputation: Unknown Throughout Heaven and Earth]
[Overall Strength: Too Weak To Mention]
---
The system's data poured into Harun's mind, smashing him like a crashing jet. Unable to withstand the impact, Harun collapsed on his back—alarming Jiyan who didn't expect such a drastic reaction.
…
"As the dream people say, Rome wasn't built in one day. Patience is the mother of success. We can do this." Those were Harun's first words upon waking up. A blurry female figure welcomed his trembling eyes, clearing up to become Jiyan's enchanting face.
"Evening, sunshine. Didn't expect that the Golden Token would be so bad for your mental health. From now on, I will have to take extra care of you. Does this count as merit?" She asked with an innocent yet mischievous smile. Harun rolled his eyes, but felt that without Jiyan by his side, he wouldn't have come up with this alternative so soon.
Too much stress clogged the brain. If she wasn't here to let him relax, Harun didn't doubt he'd have mindlessly gone through with his reincarnation plan, not caring for the scourge issue before it was too late. In dream terms, Jiyan was his muse.
"Naturally. In fact, I have a reward for you," Harun said, yet couldn't bring himself to leave the comfort of Jiyan's lap. Though she saw through his petty thoughts, Jiyan didn't expose them, letting him take advantage of her while she ran her hands through his hair. Harun stood up, and without warning, led Jiyan out of the pagoda. By now, the world knew of Dilnaz's accomplishments. Only those two didn't pay attention, like a pair of secluded dual cultivators too focused on enjoying the other's warmth.
Leaping across the pagoda's wall, Harun led Jiyan to the top, and the two sat on the chalky roof. At first, Jiyan wondered if Harun wanted to moon-gaze alongside her, a rather cliché setting, but one she'd still enjoy with him. Yes, as he held her hand and led her across the walls, it became obvious to Jiyan that as long as Harun stood beside her, she could enjoy anything. However, she'd underestimated his ingenuity.
Once the two sat on the rooftop, right under the moon's shine, Harun flashed Jiyan a radiant smile, and closed his eyes. His hands joined in a dhyana mudra, and from his pores, multicolor light beams shot toward the sky, forming the twelve zodiac constellations circling the Azure Dragon east, the White Tiger west, the Black Tortoise north, and the Vermillion Bird south. At the center of this marvelous chart, shimmering lines from all constellations joined in one dazzling point. And dazed by this wondrous scene, Jiyan didn't know what to say. Her lips parted in astonishment, and her eyes sparkled—reflecting the constellations she stared at.
"Astounding. What...how are you doing that?" Jiyan asked in amazement. Though high-ranking gods could summon stars and moon, Harun was still far from that level. Moreover, Jiyan could see that those weren't genuine stars, but images condensed through a unique art.
"This is my Ancient Dream Chart, gathering constellations that do not exist in our world. As for the how...it's a secret," self-satisfied, Harun stroked his beardless chin. How could he tell Jiyan that those false stars were nothing more than luminous insects he refined specifically for this purpose? In his homeworld, Harun often used this trick to mess with romantic lasses, but never felt more satisfied than he did today. Unwilling to waste the moment on pointless questions, Jiyan leaned on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around hers— and the two thus enjoyed the Ancient Dream—unaware of its implications.
…
The week passed without hurdles. On the following day, Jiyan took Harun on a tour of the Imperial Dao Pavillion, and the two learned of Dilnaz's feats. This would be the last disturbance they'd face pre-battle.
On the fourth day, Harun completed his Holy Conversion and became a True Saint. On the fifth day, his blood refinement reached the peak, returning his Celestial Nature to the World-Devouring-level. Harun considered bringing Jiyan on the true path. However, it was too early for her.
Ultimately, Jiyan was only 17. Although she inherited the First Emperor's Dao, she didn't have a path of her own yet, didn't complete the Mortal Path, and had yet to comprehend the mysteries of Life and Death. In the future, they could handle that. Harun wanted to immediately hide Jiyan behind the system's First Door, his personal space world and cultivation room.
However, she insisted on beheading the enemies with him first.
"The 33 Heavens' junior generation below 200 aren't worth much, but the Serpent Domain is different. Granted, the seven they will send have no reputation in our circles, I wouldn't be surprised if two or three possessed Double Pupils, or worse, a complete Dao Foundation. Considering the Devouring Serpent's ruling line's intermarriage, their bloodline level should be extremely high. We can't afford to underestimate them. You take care of the others, I will take care of them."
She reasoned, and Harun had to agree with her. The Golden Crow Ancestor visited the Extreme Yin Prison once every 100 years to drain the beasts' Life Essence. This routine had gone on for over three million years, so Harun didn't fear a sudden visit.
They were ready, and the time had come.
…
On the seventh day's morning, Harun and Jiyan stood up, side by side, and stepped out of the Pagoda. And as if awaiting their appearance, the Imperial Dao Pavillion's earth shook under the combined advance of thousands of cultivators. They came from various sects and clans, possessed different aspirations, yet, in that instant, all only had one thing in mind: Harun's Sovereign Pupils. And regardless of the cost, they would snatch them! Or so they thought.