Defiance of the Fall

Shifting back to human let him add finishing touches , pushing that number to an impressive 95% . The last 5% was impossible to solve without being able to manipulate all three elements simultaneously . Besides , his soul was utterly drained . He wouldn’t have the strength to deal with the energy bursts if he kept pushing it .

There were no critical errors in its appearance , just minor inefficiencies , and that problem should solve itself . Dao had a natural state of balance , which could be glimpsed from the patterns often appearing on High-grade materials . As such , the Core Formation Array’s constant pressure would make the materials move toward equilibrium as they condensed .

There wasn’t much left for Zac to do except keep watch and recover . The nucleus was as stable as could be , and few low-grade cultivators would be able to spot anything wrong . But it was built on a lie . Anyone with the slightest insights into the paradoxical nature of the Peak of Chaos would know Zac’s solution shouldn’t work .

And technically , it didn’t .

Zac had kept his mind occupied over the past hours , but it was time to face facts . His estimates on the Void Heart] were inaccurate , and not by a small degree . Meanwhile , the lingering unity of Chaos was starting to wear off . The imperfection of his low attainment in the Dao tainted the perfected version of Life and Death , and seeds of discord disrupted the balance inside the Hollow Core] .

It was just a matter of time before it destabilized the nucleus . Even the radiant light from the agitated materials started to wane .

Too much time had passed , and the materials were hardening . Certainly , the Supreme treasures had been indelibly transformed by the process , but they couldn’t remain in this state . It was the same as with working on skill fractals . You could only modify a fractal for so long until it solidified .

He needed to start adding the next set of materials . Wait too long , and the second layer wouldn’t properly connect with the nucleus , creating a hidden weakness where the Cosmic Core would crack when too much energy coursed through its pathways .

That’s why he’d already thrown the next set of materials onto the refinement arrays . The general refinement arrays took longer than the specialized arrays Zac used before , and he needed to have the materials on hand before the nucleus solidified . Of course , that depended on Zac making it that far . The nucleus was living on borrowed time .

Void Heart] was almost three hours late in providing the final piece of the puzzle , and Zac’s worry only grew as another hour passed . Zac was infinitely thankful he had been a bit greedy when it came to the Chaos Motes . If anything , he felt a pang of regret not opting for a few more . Of course , that might have resulted in his soul not enduring the unexpectedly rough process .

He’d passed the time using his Undying Mark] and Healing Pills to fix some of the damage to his body and Soul Aperture , and he’d performed maintenance on his damaged pathways and Thousand Lights Avatar] . Later , he swapped back to his human form to use Surging Vitality] and a second batch of pills .

Then Zac reached a point he hoped he’d never have to see . The mental threads moved like surgical knives to cut off a small section that was destabilizing . He tried to expel it from his body , but neither hatch nor Hollow Core] allowed the release of such energy-rich material . He could only repeat his previous maneuver and withstand the resulting explosion . It rocked the hidden space within the Duplicity Core , and Zac dragged the broken pieces out soon after with a sense of defeat .

Losing a couple of pieces of the nucleus wasn’t the end of the world . The damage could be repaired , and it only meant a bit more work when he needed to upgrade the core in the future . But the fact he couldn’t maintain stability even with a fully formed nucleus meant he was out of time . Every subsequent explosion would create a negative spiral that would spin out of control .

Zac fought exhaustion while infusing his full will into the Hollow Core] , but it felt like he was trying to right a sinking ship by throwing water overboard with a bucket . Indecision gnawed at him as he desperately tried to maintain the status quo , his eyes constantly darting to the ring holding his Void Treasures .

Then , a deep thump shook the whole platform , and Zac almost cried with relief . Void Heart] had given him a scare , but it was finally done . A stream of mysterious Void Energy poured out of the Hidden Node , looking like a thundercloud of alien runes . The patterns didn’t resemble anything from Ultom and seemed completely separate from the systems used in this era . Zac wasn’t even certain whether it was physical or spiritual as it moved through his body .