The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Chapter 144: Calamity Descent

After his tribulation and meeting with the Monks, Fruity returned to the cave and began cultivating again. He realized that he faced several limitations during the tribulation.

Firstly, his spiritual qi was insufficient to sustain the bell for long periods. The bell has two unique abilities. The first was defense, both physical and spiritual. The second was a sonic attack, an offensive skill. However, using these abilities required a lot of strong spiritual qi.

During his tribulation, he had only used a fraction of the bell's true power. He needed to grow stronger to expand his soul sea and gain access to more spiritual qi. He knew his next tribulation would be hard, but he was determined to fix that, gradually.

Secondly, Fruity felt disconnected from the bead. He knew he should be able to use all five faces of the bead, each representing a unique skill. However, he could only use the [Bell of Harrow] face.

He tried to connect with the other faces inside the bell, but they didn't respond. Fruity understood that he needed to become stronger to access these faces and use their powers effectively. He hoped that by increasing his strength, he could unlock these abilities and turn them to his advantage.

Fruity learned a few things about the bead from the elders. But when he returned to the cave, one question kept nagging at him: "If the technique I'm using is called the Nine Divine Soul Beads Art, then where are the other eight?"

It was a question only he could answer. He remembered receiving only the first form of the technique when he emerged from the strange place. This meant the other eight beads were out there, waiting for him to find them.

With this thought in mind, Fruity resumed his cultivation. Two months later, he faced another tribulation as he was breaking through to the Master stage. This tribulation was relatively easy. All he had to do was sit and let the bell handle most of the work. His spiritual qi was what powered the bell, so in a way, he was still in control.

After the tribulation, Fruity continued his training, spending less time outside. Initially, he would go out to get food, but as his strength grew, he realized that food was becoming less important. He dedicated his days, weeks, and months to cultivating.

Four months later, he went through another tribulation and reached the Grandmaster level. Despite his efforts, he couldn't get the other faces of the bead to respond. No matter how hard he tried, they remained unresponsive. His attempts were in vain, and his frustration grew.

After weeks of failed attempts, Fruity refocused on his training to form his Nexus Core, a crucial step toward becoming a Saint. The Monks provided him with additional resources. Without wasting any more time, he set to work on his cultivation.

Half a year later, Fruity bridged the gap needed to begin forming his Nexus Core. This was a significant milestone in his journey to greater strength.

It took Fruity another half-year to form his Nexus Core. The process was so intense and challenging that he began to suspect the heavens might be interfering. According to the teachings he received from the Monks, the core formation required him to focus on his Spiritual Qi pool, which appeared in his soul sea after breaking through to the Grandmaster stage.

The goal was to concentrate and condense this Qi pool. While the initial concentration was straightforward, the condensing process was the difficult part. Even the smallest leakage of spiritual qi could have a significant impact on future progress. As a result, most people spent months ensuring that every last drop was perfectly condensed.

Fruity faced an extraordinary setback. When it was time to form his Nexus Core, he discovered that his spiritual qi pool was scattered. Instead of being concentrated in one place, it was divided into nine separate locations. This meant that if he formed the core in one location, the other eight would be wasted.

Though this was a severe blow, Fruity did not despair. Instead, he embarked on what could only be described as a mad quest. For five months, he painstakingly worked to move the other eight pools into a single location. It was a slow and tedious process, but his determination never wavered. After months of intense effort, he finally succeeded.

With the pools unified, Fruity was able to form his Nexus Core and condense it. Afterward, he faced another tribulation. The tribulation unfolded as it had before Fruity remained inside the bell while tribulation lightning rained down from the heavens. The bell's sonic attacks, triggered by the lightning strikes, annihilated all the lightning beasts that appeared.

The moment Fruity became a Saint, he felt a new connection to another face on the bead. The first face was the [Bell of Harrows]. The second face was called the [Eye of Despair]. Fruity spent an entire month exploring the three skills associated with the Eye of Despair.

When activated, a large eye would appear. Simply looking directly at it could plunge someone into despair, especially those with weaker souls and minds.

The first skill was called [Soul Gaze]. When activated, the eye opened sinisterly. Gazing into it could cause the soul of those with weaker wills to shudder or even injure their soul. The severity of the effect grew as the skill's owner became stronger.

The second skill was [Eye of Malevolence]. When activated, tiny eyes appeared within the larger eye, and a haunting hum emanated from them. This hum could cause intense mental torture, breaking down the target's mind.

The third skill was [Soul Beam]. Fruity needed to concentrate his spiritual qi into the Eye of Despair and shoot it forward with deadly intent.

This skill was quite dangerous. On a large battlefield, the beam could affect the souls of allies as well as enemies, unlike Soul Gaze and Eye of Malevolence, which targeted one person or a small group.

Despite its risks, Fruity sensed that as he grew stronger, he could gain control over the Soul Beam. It was a terrifying skill, but if used correctly, it could be nearly impossible for even stronger opponents to defend against. After all, it was a soul attack.

After mastering the second face of the skill, Fruity continued his cultivation. He remained vigilant, always on the lookout for danger. He had sensed that the Monastery had been restless for a few months, but the Monks reassured him, telling him not to worry and to focus on his cultivation.

Because of that, he went on and started cultivating even more intensely. Months passed and before long, he had spent two years just cultivating from Awakened to Saint and now nearing the Sage stage.

However, exactly two years after he started cultivating, the heavens darkened ominously. On that fateful day, the Monastery was surrounded. Powerful figures emerged from the space cracks that had been appearing around the Monastery.

The Monastery went on high alert. There was no despair among the Monks; they had been anticipating this day for a long time, and now it had finally arrived.

"Monks, surrender the Forbidden Ice Wielder," a voice boomed, "and this Monastery will live to see another day."