Chapter 1180: Land Spirit
"When you're weak, your suffering is amplified."
"Mortals suffer the most, unaware of their lives dictated."
"Suffer, and return to earth, from whence you may realize..."
"The vastness of the world!"
Krune suddenly woke up as he noticed that he was situated in the void once again. But, unlike before, a strange entity hovered before him.
The entity was no different from a ball of light. However, it was an unnerving existence. For one moment, it was a ball of light. At the next, it was a gigantic tower. Another moment later, it turned into a vast meadow.
It was constantly changing, fluctuating from the smallest of objects to the vastness of things in the universe.
Right as Krune wished to speak to it, he realized that he was unable to utter anything. In fact, his entire body remained stiff, unable to move.
His Godly Energy, his physical energy, and even his Mental Energy didn't move according to his will.
Right at this moment, the strange entity shaped itself similar to Krune, telling him, "You have two choices. The first is to leave this place unharmed. Second is to suffer for the faintest possibility of obtaining the treasure you seek."
Now that he was able to move his mouth, Krune asked, "Among those treasures, do Law Pools exist?"
After a moment of silence, the entity replied, "Yes, since you only wish to immerse yourself in them."
It then continued, "So, you wish to suffer... fine then. Let me warn you beforehand."
It said with joy, making a coquettish expression using his face, "In the trials you face, you'll be inhabiting the bodies of countless individuals one after another and suffer their fates. If you manage to figure out the source of the suffering and solve it, then you'll pass the scenario and return here. You'll be able to receive rewards accordingly."
"After that, you'll receive the choices of returning to the outside world or enter for another round of suffering."
"But..." It laughed, "There's hope even in despair. You'll be allowed two things that would give you hope in this suffering."
"What... are they?" Krune asked, surprised that he was able to talk once again.
"One ability and one item." As it shared the same appearance as him, the entity raised two fingers in the air, saying, "You can bring them with you. This way, no matter who you become, you'll retain these two as your exclusive power."
"The extent of your suffering would depend on your choices...now, CHOOSE!"
Krune frowned, thinking as he could feel a mysterious force surrounding him, realizing that he had less than ten seconds to make a decision. If he failed to do so before that, he would be sent into the Zone of Suffering without any power.
After all, based on what the entity said, his physique wasn't being sent. But, whether his soul was being sent or not was unsure. If it was his soul, then he would still be able to rely on his Spiritual Mark.
However, the likelihood of it being possible was low. After all, unlike Mental Energy, a Spiritual Mark, though mysterious, was still possible under the laws of the God Realm.
As for the entity before him, Krune was aware of what it was, as Sterlena had already briefed him about it.
Land Spirit!
It was a mysterious entity that was born from the land, capable of wielding all the powers belonging to this land. Even though it behaved sentient, it actually wasn't. It was just a part of nature, existing no different from the mountains, rivers, etc.
And all along, the Zone of Suffering hadn't been fully functional, allowing cultivators to enter the place with their bodies. Though, they didn't manage to reap any rewards as a result.
But now that the Land Spirit had appeared, it was apparent that the outermost region of the core land of the infant supercontinent, the Principality of Precipice, had finished forming.
Going against a Land Spirit was simply impossible because it possessed powers almost on par with a Primal God. So, whatever it said was the law of the area it acted upon. After all, they were just mortals before a Primal God.
Land Spirits were only available on a supercontinent. Based on the number of Land Spirits present on one, the foundation of the supercontinent varied.
'If I am sent into the bodies of different individuals, there's probably a good chance I won't have any cultivation.' Krune thought, recalling the verse or poem he heard at the start. It mentioned mortals, so he obtained some idea as to what he might face. 'I really didn't like becoming a mortal ever again.'
His mind whirred into action as his thoughts clashed. 'So, the ability I pick would be tremendously nerfed to the extent it wouldn't be anything important even from the perspective of a mortal. So, I'll have to pick one that would allow me to gain the most advantage.'
'There's only one for that.' He finalized his choice, 'And, to escape from suffering, only that is capable of helping me.'
He then nodded, speaking once he judged that he was able to move his mouth. "I have decided on the ability and the item I would bring with me."
"Think of them once, and it'll be with you," the entity said as Krune took in a deep breath, thinking of the item and ability he would be carrying with him.
His figure then vanished as the entity muttered, "Alas, another person's suffering has begun."
...
"Gah!" A beggar choked, coughing immediately as his coughs turned violent, spitting out some blood in response as he looked forward, watching the soles of a shoe slam into his face, causing his nose to bleed.
"It...hurts!" Suddenly, he screamed in pain, feeling a searing sensation from all over his body. His lungs seemed to be...burning, while he was unable to feel anything under his hips. His lower body seemed numb.
"Hahaha! This dirt rat still has enough energy to scream." A couple of derisive chuckles resounded as a fat man with a forest patch of hair on his chest bent forward, spitting on the face of the beggar before walking away. "His screams are so pitiful!"
'What the...heck happened?' Krune thought, looking around as he was unable to understand anything, noticing that his eyesight had turned blurry. And soon after, his eyes closed.