Out of the sixteen Heaven's Chosen that he had slain, not all of them had provided him with a worthwhile Talent. Quite a few of them were far too 'ordinary', merely equipped with a decent Cultivation-series one and at most two or three aside from that–which he all had already acquired before due to how commonplace they were.
Yet, there had still been three that had caught his eye and would be capable of strengthening him. By far the best of them all–at least at first glance–was the one that had enabled Jerrold to stand at the pinnacle of his home world.
[ Undying Physique (Mythical):
• The body will be immune to ageing after turning 25 years old.
• Immune to all negative or controlling effects at or below Mythical-grade.
• Life force recovery speed: +9,900%
• Wound healing speed: +9,900% ]
Being the third Physique Talent other than his own original one, it naturally was extremely outstanding. Unfortunately, due to its comparatively 'low' grade, it couldn't shine as brightly as the others he had seen.
Some of its effects were merely a weaker version of what his Supreme Empyrean Physique provided him with–yet they were still welcome, as both of them could stack. Then, there was the practical immortality which it promised. To a regular person, this one would indubitably hold the greatest allure!
However, to someone of Theodore's calibre, that part was effectively utterly inconsequential. The higher one's cultivation stage and realm, the longer their Lifespan. Under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible for a truly talented person to die of old age.
Still, this effect wasn't worthless–at the very least, it had thoroughly eliminated a hidden danger. Ageing itself could be seen as a disease, stemming from slowly accumulating imperfections on the cellular level over time. With them out of the picture, one would certainly be positively influenced. Therefore, Theodore had still been reinforced at his core–although imperceptibly.
But even that benefit wasn't what had caught his attention the most–instead, it was the seemingly 'underwhelming' life force-related effect. Vitality and life force were deeply intertwined, to the point that it was hard for a layperson to tell how exactly they differed. Whenever the Vitality Attribute rose, so did the life force and its recovery speed. Should one actually be an immortal, then the sole way in which one could still be made to endure the physical ravages of time was by having one's life force taken away.
Naturally, it would gradually recover. But if it ever truly ran out and hit zero, then one would have to bid one's life a teary, permanent farewell. The Undying Physique added another multiplier on top of one's already existing life force recovery speed, making it 100 times as effective as normal, significantly reducing the risk of such an event occurring.
Other than Navya's Vital Drought Physique, Theodore had never even seen a singular Talent which interacted with life force directly–or mentioned it–in any way. Therefore, although it would not immediately get the chance to prove useful to him, he still welcomed it with open arms.
The man he had got the Undying Physique from, Jerrold, had had a Legendary-grade Cultivation Savant Talent as well, which in combination with his nearly unkillable body had allowed him to prevail over others and survive many plots against him.
'Come to think of it, although this Physique isn't bringing a qualitative change to me, it's still making me even harder to eliminate. I truly cannot escape the cockroach allegations...'
Smirking to himself in amusement, he pulled up the second Talent that he had acquired from the Anti-Winter Alliance's members.
[ Void Walker (Legendary):
• Significant resistance to the Lesser True Void.
• Minute resistance to the True Void.
• Void Affinity: +99,900%
• Void-related Technique cultivation difficulty: -99.9%
• Void-related Technique cultivation speed: +99,900%
• Void-related Proficiencies improvement efficiency: +90% ]
Exactly like the Undying Physique before it, 'Void Walker' had been a secondary, supporting Talent of the Heaven's Chosen that it had originally belonged to. Yet, it had been in a rather awkward position–after all, merely reaching the Lesser True Void was no small feat. To enter it was absolutely deadly, even at the Dawning Numen Stage. Theodore wouldn't dare to contemplate going anywhere near it for at least a few rounds!
The 'void' referred to here wasn't just an 'unoccupied space' devoid of almost everything, like the 'emptiness' separating different galaxies back in John's old world. There, various types of radiation and plenty of forces, as well as gravity, could still exert an influence on those stretches of spacetime.
The Lesser True Void and the even more terrifying True Void were not simply separating parts of a singular world, but entire worlds from each other. And in the latter's case, World Clusters amidst the infinity of existence.
Every single world could contain entire universes, or even multiverses. Anything within could still be considered a part of their respective spacetimes. But what lay between multiple worlds was a wholly different beast. It couldn't even be classified as a sort of spacetime. The sole reason it and the worlds it enveloped were thought of in a spatial manner was that the mind found it easier to visualize and comprehend it as such. Yet in truth, it was the absence of spacetime itself!
'But all of that is still so far away from the current me that I truly don't need to worry about it. The Void Walker Talent will surely become useful someday, but for right now, it won't be of any help. Its previous owner had likely never drawn any use from it either. This next one, however, could possibly come in handy in the near future.'
[ Camouflage Shroud (Epic):
• Can consume Energy to conceal oneself or an Energy expenditure-dependent area around oneself, shielding everything that has been veiled from the perception of others.
• The above will not be absolute if faced with a Legendary-grade Talent, an Expert-level Proficiency, or the senses of an entity vastly surpassing one's own cultivation realm. ]
The one who this Talent had originally belonged to was the woman of the Neutral Party who had followed after Yevgeni with two others. She had been the one who had enabled the group of ten to hide at the edge of his Compound Array's influence.
Originally, this should have allowed them to remain completely undetected. Yet, his Array Luminary Talent was of Mythical-grade, laying them bare to him. Aside from that, his Array Formation Proficiency was high enough to bypass the shroud as well. In both ways, the Epic-grade Talent had been utterly outclassed.
Functionally, it was quite similar to a Concealment Array which could always be carried on one's person. However, once an Array Disk with one such Array inscribed upon it was at hand, then this Talent began to appear rather useless in comparison.
'But in reality, it isn't. Both of their effects can be stacked, leading to a result much better than either would be capable of achieving on their own. Aside from that, a Concealment Array makes use of the ambient Energy, whilst the Camouflage Shroud saps one's own Energy instead. They will not interfere with each other in this regard.'
Nonetheless, he would still need to test how exactly these two kinds of cloaking methods would interact with each other. That would have to wait for the future, though. Once he could actually manipulate Energy and had a few minutes to spare, he would figure it out within a couple of moments of free time, leaving him with another way of slightly reinforcing his means.
'Lastly, there are still some items of note.'
Amongst the plentiful gains, there naturally was no shortage of valuables and money–yet those got completely ignored by him. The precious materials they had acquired, which chiefly originated from the bodies of the beasts that had been slain, were a bit better. Huge numbers of them could be used as Array components, and there were even rare ones amongst them which would allow him to create a few Array Disks.
But the most precious of all the loot were four items in particular. Firstly, there was a pair of Storage Rings of distinctly different make than the ones that had been taken from the Imperial Han Family. They had a far more antique, ancient feel to them, yet also had powerful Energy Gathering Arrays inscribed upon them. It was unclear where their previous owner had picked them up. Most likely, they had stumbled across them in one of the ruins.
Next, there was the broadsword which he had taken from Jerrold. Both it and its accompanying sheath appeared relatively plain and ordinary at first glance, yet they exuded a devilish, dangerous aura. Already having tested the weapon right after acquiring it, he was aware of its ability to absorb the life force of its user, temporarily enhancing its quality and power.
'During that week of slaughter, I fed it quite a bit every now and then. It seems that after all of these hearty meals, there has also been a bit of permanent improvement.'
Scrutinizing it closely, he tested the blade's edge against various materials, an appreciative smile on his lips. Even to him, this weapon showed a considerable amount of promise. With his newly acquired Undying Physique, he could utilize it perfectly as well.
'But alas, I simply won't need it once I can finally make use of Faavi. I suppose I'll hold on to it until I reach the Energy Refinement Stage, then I'll hand it to Satoru. A reduction in life force might still qualify as a physical injury, if his Martial God's Incarnation is generous enough.'
The fourth item was an extremely withered root barely a few centimetres long. It looked as if it would fall apart at the slightest touch and had died completely thousands of years ago. Yet, in actuality, it was surprisingly resilient, to the point where it could resist Theodore's current full physical strength without budging. That aside, he could still feel an extremely minute life force hibernating deep within it, making it clear that the life of the being it came from had not truly been extinguished.
'No matter what kind of plant this is, it's obvious that it had once been a powerful expert. Maybe it is because of its current near-death state, but I cannot determine which influential Plant race it might belong to–or if it is from a heretofore unknown one altogether.'
Playing with the root in his hand, he began to contemplate his options.
'To revive it or to kill it, that's the question.'
If it had been anyone else, then snuffing out its life would merely mean that a potential risk had been avoided–after all, one never knew if the being one saved would repay one's kindness with a swift death. Yet in Theodore's case, he also had the opportunity to get a possibly impressive Talent.
'But what if this is merely a part of this plant's body which was discarded in the past? Would my Existence's Foremost Calamity still trigger if all I'm doing is killing a part of someone? I highly doubt it.'
Finally making his decision, a calculative glint flashed past his eyes. There had only ever been one optimal path of action which he could take here.
'Let's do it like this: When I find a good time and opportunity, I'll rekindle the life slumbering within this root, but I won't help it recover to a point where it can harm me or escape from me. If it'll submit to me, then I'll revive it properly. But if not, then it'll be turned into firewood and go out in a literal blaze of glory.'
Putting the root aside for later, he rose to his feet. There were still two more matters to deal with today before he could enjoy his lovers' embrace. Teleporting to the spot where Vigdis had put the Fly Slaves which he had left alive to serve as Satoru's 'training partners', he glanced at them for a few moments. Picking out the one whose foundations had been the least damaged by having been rapidly and forcefully raised to the Initial Ascension Stage, he nodded in satisfaction.
'Alright, it'll be you.'