Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 79 - Heart Reforging

And, although it couldn’t compare to [True Vision], it enabled him to detect vital information - bone mass and muscle mass density, inconsistency in body structures, gaps in exoskeleton - which allowed him to figure out weak points.

He had finally been able to defeat a giant sandworm - one of the most difficult monsters to kill in the Howling Expanse - bare-handed. Well, if one didn’t count the initial mana blast attack.

There were no tough opponents that could help level up his skills - he needed to find new monsters to fight.

I need to discover the secret area of this zone. He already had an idea of how to get access to the hidden boss. But before that…let’s see.

He resumed what he intended to do before the ugly worm swallowed him.

Advanced Mana Sense – Your ability to perceive mana has surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Sensing mana density, flow, and fluctuations have become significantly more precise and effortless. Higher skill levels further refine your sensitivity, allowing for deeper insight into the nature of mana and its movements.

Advanced Mana Absorption – Your ability to draw mana from the environment has greatly improved, allowing for faster and more efficient absorption. You can now extract ambient mana with minimal effort, even from thinner sources. Higher skill levels further enhance absorption speed, capacity, and adaptability in different environments.

Advanced Mana Control – Your mastery over internal mana has reached a new level, enabling precise and efficient manipulation. You can now direct mana with greater accuracy, minimizing waste and optimizing flow. Higher skill levels refine control even further, allowing seamless distribution and complex mana techniques.

Alaric inhaled a deep breath and focused on perceiving the fluctuations in ambient mana. With effortless ease, he absorbed mana-like tissue paper soaks up water. Moments later, he condensed mana in his palm - a pin-prick of blue light that instantly expanded to the size of an apple - and hurled it off to his right.

A shimmering form materialized with a screech as the mana blast stuck it mid-air. The camouflaged desert chameleon was blasted into the land of the dead before it realized it had been discovered.

He reviewed the notifications in his mind.

[Mana Resonance lvl 1 -> Mana Resonance lvl 3]

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[Advanced Mana Sense lvl 1 -> Advanced Mana Sense lvl 2]

[Advanced Mana Absorption lvl 1-> Advanced Mana Absorption lvl 2]

[Advanced Mana Control lvl 1 -> Advanced Mana Control lvl 2]

Just as he had suspected, leveling up the three foundational skills would be the easiest. He had only used these evolved skills once and already leveled them up to level 2.

Overall, it felt a little restrictive to use the three foundation skills simultaneously compared to the [mana manipulation] ability, but that would change after a while.

It wouldn’t take long to evolve his [Mana Resonance] skill. What he was really concerned about was leveling up his [Mana Scrambling] skill. Being a rare skill, it was very powerful but also meant that he would have to push it to level 25.

Unfortunately, it has been stuck at level 20 for many weeks now. Fortunately, all his other skills were already leveled up. He glanced at the direction of the black pyramid, which had also become the burial ground of Anu-Khepra-Ra.

Alaric had yet to investigate the changes inside the pyramid. He was quite excited about it. But there was something he needed to do first - it was time to reforge his heart.

***

Whispering Woods Training Grounds

“You will probably find it easier to reforge your heart,” said Edgar. Alaric agreed with him. The heart, blood, lungs, and muscles had a good synergy and were one of the most popular body reforging aspect combinations.

He concluded that since his muscles and blood were already partially reforged, they would support his attempt at heart reforging. Wasting no more time, he retrieved the vial brimming with radiant crimson swirls - Pharaoh’s Bloodstone Elixir.

Taking his usual spot, he swallowed the elixir in one gulp. As expected, the liquid tasted of blood and left a metallic aftertaste as it slowly slid down his throat and settled into his stomach.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Moments later, a slight stomach ache greeted him, followed by a wave of nausea. Within ten minutes, the rolling waves of sickness congealed in his throat, and the world started spinning even with his eyes closed.

He felt like puking but did his best to hold it in. Before long, however, the pain in his stomach subsided, followed by nausea relief as the spinning world came to a halt. A black void greeted him.

The sharp ringing in his mind faded to utter silence. No, not complete silence. A rhythmic beat gradually pierced through the silence as a pressure swelled in his heart. Finally, the fun begins.

His senses sharpened as his awareness was attracted to the left of his sternum like metal to a strong magnet. Everything else faded as the image of a fist-sized organ revealed itself - his heart.

The pull of gravity deepened as his awareness was yanked from his body. The image accelerated toward him, growing larger and larger until it loomed like a mountain. The pressure in his heart intensified with each pulsing beat of the heart.

Alaric was fully prepared for a mind-numbing pain to assault his senses, but the pain reached a manageable peak before ebbing away. Fascinated, he inspected this complex organ that worked non-stop to sustain his life.

Under the influence of his heightened senses, he effortlessly dissected the anatomy of the heart in fine detail. An intricate arrangement of muscular walls, chambers, valves, and blood vessels unraveled themselves to him like never before.

A series of insights fed him information about how each part of his heart functioned. The powerful heart walls contracted and relaxed, pumping blood throughout his body.

Blood carried oxygen and nutrients to the cell. It also carried off carbon dioxide and other waste for disposal.

The four chambers of the heart - two on the top and two on the bottom - worked in tandem to support the whole process.

Two large veins - one connected to the upper body and the other to the lower body - delivered oxygen-poor blood into the upper right chamber, which then pumped it to the lower right chamber.

A major artery in the lower right chamber shuttled the oxygen-poor blood to his lungs, where it was replenished with oxygen. The oxygen-rich blood then flowed to the upper left chamber through another major vein, before being directed to the lower left chamber.

The final chamber contracted tightly, driving the oxygen-rich blood to the rest of his body.

The heart valves between the chambers functioned as gates, opening and sealing at precise moments to prevent the backflow of blood.

In his trance-like state, Alaric witnessed the blood-red energy of the elixir suffusing every section of his heart, threatening to overload them with energy. It accelerated his pulse, aiming to improve the efficiency of the whole process.

The blood coursing through his heart burned with each pulse as the blood-red energy surged within, incinerating impurities and refining it. Each beat sent shockwaves through his body, the pounding rhythm reverberating in his mind like gongs.

Alaric prepared to use [Restorative Flow] to quickly heal any injuries before losing control. But there was no need - his partially reforged organs came to the rescue.

Alaric’s fortified heart wall muscles - already partially reforged - stretched like a balloon but effortlessly endured the strain of the foreign energy, keeping the build-up of pressure in check.

The level of impurity in the blood determined the duration and severity of the burn. Since his blood had also undergone partial reforging, the pain remained tolerable.

His partially reforged lungs quickly replenished the oxygen-poor blood with fresh life, before the burn could spread to his lungs. Unlike his previous reforging sessions, the heart reforging process progressed seamlessly.

Safety and growth didn’t always go hand in hand. He was determined to extract the most benefit out of this reforging session, even if it meant taking some risks.

This tactic bore results during his previous reforging sessions, where he utilized his skills and the power of his chakras to accelerate the reforging process.

However, there never arose a need during this session where he had to use any of his skills or the power of the chakras. The blood-red energy worked its magic optimally under the combined influence of his partially reforged organs.

Time lost its meaning as euphoria took over. The heart-reforging process was going even better than he had hoped. When he came to his senses, the steady beat of his heart greeted him with a slight tightness in the heart.

A surge of adrenaline spread through his chest as he realized his success. Oddly, his pulse didn’t speed up even in his excited state. Instead, each thump deepened, resonating louder, pumping more volume of blood, and improving circulation throughout his body.

The steady rhythm of his heartbeat synchronized perfectly with his calm breathing, instilling a sense of unshakable confidence. However, that sensation gradually ebbed as the echo of his heartbeat faded from his mind.

Alaric exhaled a sigh of contentment. Good…no, this is incredible. He could perceive how his cardiovascular system and respiratory system now functioned in complete harmony.

Heart Reforging:

Reforging Progress - 4%

Mana Infusion Potency - 5%

The full effect of his heart reforging would manifest when he required healing, but for now, he was already satisfied with the benefits.

Unlike the last few reforging sessions, his body wasn’t completely drenched in impurities - it was much less severe. Reforging five aspects of his body had already purified his body to a considerable degree.

“Judging by the grin on your face, the process was a success?” Edgar approached, pointing a stick towards him.

“I feel better than ever.” He nodded. “It seems I’m finally experiencing the synergistic effects of selective body reforging.”

“Hah…selective!” Edgar chuckled before leveling his gaze on him “I can’t wait to spar with you once you’ve reforged every aspect of your body.”

Of course, the word selective didn’t apply to Alaric. Instead of answering, he grabbed the stick and teleported to his bedroom. Less or more impurities, it didn’t matter - he still needed a bath.

***

Inside the Black Pyramid

The great hall of the pyramid, once lively with the bustling presence of servants, generals, and guards, now stood in eerie silence. The walls, once adorned with an exquisite blend of artwork, lay barren, blemished by the stains of countless centuries.

Sections of the vaulted ceilings had collapsed onto the floor, matching the state of disrepair all around him. With the death of the king, the illusion of grandeur had shattered. A thick layer of dust and cobwebs greeted him in every nook and cranny.

Sunlight streamed inside the collapsed structure through the openings in the ceiling, lighting up sections in patches. Some corners were too dark to see with eyes while others were perfectly visible.

Alaric descended through the dilapidated stairway, its steps barely holding together, and arrived at the former grand treasure chamber. When he witnessed what was inside - or rather, what wasn’t - he let out a smile.

Not a single sign indicated that this massive, empty hall once housed numerous invaluable treasures. He chuckled. It’s just as you said; those treasures never matter at all.

His eyes focused on the center of the room - a patch of darkness that the sunlight couldn’t penetrate. However, he didn’t need eyes to see what occupied that spot.

His [Mana Resonance] skill illuminated the obsidian cube in his awareness in fine detail. Etched with fine white lines, it was the only structure that still appeared as pristine as ever.

Wasting no more time, he retrieved the golden sun disc crown and fitted it onto the slot.

Once the crown settled in, the four scarab key fragments shot towards the additional slots that revealed themselves. Colors of the rainbow flashed as the front split apart, creating an entryway inside.

He strode inside and beheld the otherworldly machine - the series of five golden discs that remained untouched by time - only now it was as inert as a rock. However, there was no mistaking that once he inserted the prismatic triangular object into the heart of the machine, it would erupt into a flurry of activity.

This is no time to hesitate. Anu-Khepra-Ra has died.

Alaric stretched his [Mana Resonance] to the limits, searching for the presence of any other powerful enemy. There was none - he had taken care of all the strong ones.

Even if the machine connected their world to this zone, no monster could breach it. However, his intuition told him that it would lead him to the secret zone where the true boss of the zone awaited him.

He parted the dangling wires at the base of the construct, carefully placed the prismatic triangular object in its original spot, and backed away. For a while, nothing happened and he wondered whether he had destroyed the machine for good.

However, just as he was about to investigate, the system replica hummed with that same mysterious energy, projecting a beam of blue that pierced the darkness above. The energy beam was tearing a hole in space - connecting it to some unknown dimension.

In less than five minutes, the shimmering blue portal expanded to a diameter of ten feet and stabilized. All the preparations were complete. Now, it was time to discover what lay on the other side.

Here goes nothing. Alaric activated [Mana Empowerment] and [Zen Flow] before diving into the portal.

A warm buzz coursed through his body as blue overtook his vision. Time and space warped as his sense of body vanished. Moments later, a blinding flash of white came crashing towards him, disorienting his senses even further.

A sharp ringing assaulted his mind as he swallowed the wave of nausea that threatened to make him vomit. Alaric blinked, readjusting his eyes before activating his [Mana Resonance] skill to scan his surroundings.

Even a moment of vulnerability could cost his life. After all, he had already arrived at the other side. No matter. I’m prepared for anything. Or so he thought!

“What in the world…” what he witnessed took his breath away.