The Strongest Demon Lord in the Modern World - Chapter 50

Pooling from his inner source, the [Aether Core], Aziel began to process of molding the amorphous cloud of the essence in a more manageable form. Surprisingly, unlike previously, during his seclusion, the process was nowhere near as arduous. It was much faster and way more efficient.

Aziel himself was surprised by the swiftness of the entire process. What he first thought would take him at least the entire night, maybe, even more, to even reach any meaningful stage, was processing at a lightning-fast pace.

The gaseous amorph white milky cloud deformed, transforming into the easiest shape it could hold; a ball. Aziel then placed both his spiritual hands around the tennis-ball-sized essence and whilst stabilizing the energy transfer, it began to slowly transfer it towards the larger, main one.

Reaching over, Aziel couldn’t relax, he was fully focused. The last stage of the process, the actual fusion was also the hardest of them all, it didn’t only require precise control and handling of both his own inner energy, but he also had to focus on the reactions and responses. The smallest mistake could result in a major catastrophe.

Whilst doing all that, Aziel also had to make sure to properly circulate the [Aether] corresponding to the cultivation technique he was still in the form of updating. That in on itself held a considerable amount of risk, as he had no proper guidance, no prior experience to turn to. He was basically the progenitor, he could only rely on his previous life’s knowledge.

As mentioned before, the cultivation progression on Nova was divided into seven major realms. These were the Mortal, Earth, Sky, Noble, Duke, King, Emperor, and last but not least: Demi-God. Within each stage were sub-levels. The first stage, for example, consisted of three sublevels: Foundation Establishment, Essence Enlightenment, and Core Condensation.

As the name suggests, the first sub-level was about building a solid foundation from which all the other cultivation stages were developed upon. Once completed, the cultivator would shed its ‘Mortal Limits’ gaining immense strength, speed, and agility. It was a transitional period when the cultivator reaches beyond the limits of the human body. He or she if successful would effectively transform her or her soul, transforming it into a so-called ‘Capacitor Soul’, capable of sensing, storing, and gathering the [Mana] freely available in the air. The cultivation should also have the ability to gather some degree of arcane force to use minor spells.

The next two sub-levels were usually combined together and were simply called the ‘Enlightenment’ phase. Once the cultivator had completed both levels, he or she could use even more powerful spells and arts. They could call upon the natural elements such as the very earth to turn it into semi-sentient golems who would fight to the death. In the eyes of the mortal creatures that never stepped on the endless path of gaining power, these cultivators were already no different than the gods, although they were technically not gods by a long chalk.

After the cultivator had breached the first stage, he or she would enter the stage called Connate, during which one could ride on the back of the wind to wherever he wanted to and increase his or her lifespan by a considerable margin. However, even with those magical powers, they were still far from being immortals.

After his first seclusion and gaining some manner of understanding with this [Aether], Aziel directly jumped through these beginner stages and landed himself at the peak of the Earth Realm. He just barely stepped into the Connate Stage. Though he was still a far cry from being able to actively and effectively use his own energy to sail the skies without using his draconic-looking, reptilian wings, he could at the very least levitate and float in the air now.

Aziel sighed, flashing a small smile as he pondered about his restarted journey. Though his physique has already reached, if not surpassed his peak from Nova, he was like a little cub, a small child in terms of cultivation.

“Hmm… I could actually try learning an art. I should have enough [Aether] gathered for some of the easier ones. What should I pick?” Aziel asked himself as his consciousness returned from his inner space.

“Still, I have to tackle this with more care this time around. I have to make sure that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated. I have to go step by step and build up my base properly. With this new energy, I’m not sure what the end would look like… I may even be able to reach into Demi-God realm…” Aziel nodded as he reflected on his past life’s mistakes.

“No, that’s not enough. I have to go further, only by reaching into the higher, mythical stages of godhood could I hope to open a path back… only then could I enact my vengeance upon those treacherous traitors!” The thought of his death from those that he thought of as his family, his brothers, and sisters made Aziel heave a sigh of regret.

Nonetheless, there were still many things that Aziel should feel grateful for. For one, he was miraculously given another chance to start all over again.

Taking a moment to ponder on his choices, he made up his mind.

He had formulated a plan and decided on the art in his mind. An Art that normally would be impossible to use in his previous life, yet with the greatest potential.

“This time, I will use the forbidden art… the Primordial God’s Void Refinement!”

The Primordial God was an existence that was more like nighttime stories were children all across Nova. More of a fantasy than anything feasible. It was an entity transcending even the Gods themselves. Effectively transcending reality, and transforming it into a concept. A being that the normal mind couldn’t even comprehend…

Yet, whilst it was but a legend, a myth, this mythical entity, this Primordial God had an even more of an impossibly hard, unique cultivation art.

Once it was mastered, the art would help the cultivator to harness much more power than those who used other arts.

“Inclusiveness was not only the key in mastering this art, but it was also important to cultivate with the limited resources. The energy on this world, this ‘Earth’ is completely different than on Nova, and I need to scrape any useful resources that I could find, including any medicinal herbs, numinous treasures, and even unsavory elements such as the Malignant Essences and even the deathly energy itself. There would be no art more suitable than the Primordial God’s Void Refinement Art given my unique circumstances.”

The so-called Malignant Essences, Deathly Energy were not that much different than the bread and butter of cultivation. They were all merely an extension of the universe itself, a reflection of one or two of its countless facets. On Nova Malignant Mana, and Death Mana was just one of the many available aspects.

That being said, the energy was much readily available on a planet, and it was easier to be bent into whatever shapes or forms the cultivator desired. The other forms of energy required specific Dharmic Arts to be harnessed. Without the aid of some very special arts, an ordinary cultivator wouldn’t be able to harness all forms of the [Mana] until they had reached the Sky Realm at the very least.

However, with the special ability of the Primordial God’s Void Refinement Art, Aziel should be able to harness the [Aether] from all sources without too much of a hassle.

The word “void” in its name referred to the vast universe. The boundless space contained an unimaginable amount of energy from various sources, all of which could be harnessed using this unique art. Whether it is the essence found inside the core of a star or of demonic origin deep below the world of the living; this particular art could handle them all.

“What a shame. I was incapable of using this art in my past. For some reason, while in theory, it outclassed everything in existence, I was too far ahead in the realms to use it back then. Now, however…”

Aziel shook his head and heaved a sigh. He had to clear his mind and focus, such thoughts would only delay him.

Taking a few minutes to calm his mind, Aziel gathered himself and started the Void Refinement.

The art was not only useful in harnessing [Aether] but was also effective in straightening one’s flesh. It was a good way to improve both internal and external prowess.

As he gradually progressed with the cultivation, his body seemed to become a black hole that sucked various forms of energy into him. The air around Aziel was soon devoid of any essence, so much so that even the breezy wind that blew by the open window became stifled.

He was so engrossed in his cultivation that he nearly forgot the passage of time. The moon rose and fell, and before he knew it, it was a brand new day.

As the sun rose above the horizon, Aziel suddenly opened his eyes as a white light streamed out from them. The pillar shot up dozens of meters into the sky, piercing the morning air as a sharp hot knife would butter. The strange white light didn’t fade away until it had hovered above Aziel for another few minutes.

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100 Power Stones -> 1 Chapter,

200 Power Stones -> 2 Chapters,

300 Power Stones -> 3 Chapters,

Golden Ticket Goals:

50 Golden Tickets -> 1 Chapter,

100 Golden Tickets -> 2 Chapters,

150 Golden Tickets -> 3 Chapters.