Rise of The Demon General Chapter 798 798. Comprehending a Law

Amon returned to the cavern and secured the prison box. He then summoned Lin Li to assist in collecting the numerous weapons scattered throughout the space. Though many were damaged, they still radiated potent auras, albeit less so than the shattered Light of Justice. These would still make for formidable armaments if he could manage repairs. He provided Lin Li with a few battle puppets to aid in the gathering process.

While Lin Li diligently carried out her task, Amon redirected his focus to the inscriptions adorning the cavern walls. He reread Yun Chao's inscription detailing the Prey Absorbing Art, re-examined his prior thoughts before Dao Su’s interruption, and then commenced putting his insights into action.

Yun Chao's Prey Absorbing Art was designed to pilfer the Qi of other cultivators to bolster one's own. Amon, however, sought a different path. He re-engineered the Prey Absorbing Art, integrating it with his existing cultivation techniques and reinforcing it with the knowledge he had acquired thus far.

He adopted a cross-legged posture before the wall, remaining utterly still. Even after Lin Li had completed her task and retreated to the black space ring, he maintained his seated position. Days passed in this manner. For sustenance, he relied on nourishment pills. Energy swirled around him chaotically as he explored diverse methodologies. At times, aether surged into him with great speed. At other moments, it drained away in substantial amounts. On yet another occasion, it moved about him with no discernible pattern.

Following twenty-two days of intense effort, he achieved a breakthrough. The cultivation art he had refined was finally ready for application.

The cultivation art he had devised inherited the absorption characteristic from Yun Chao's original work. While Yun Chao's art siphoned the aether of other cultivators, his own art drew in the ambient elements.

A typical cultivation art would absorb either natural aether or infernal aether, both forms being pure. Aether that interacted with its surroundings transformed into elemental energies, varying in intensity from mild to volatile. These elemental energies could be utilized for specialized professions or arcane arts, but not for cultivation itself, as cultivation exclusively demanded pure aether.

Amon's innovative cultivation art enabled him to absorb elemental energies and reconstitute them back into pure aether. This implied that cultivating in a location abundant in both dense aether and rich elemental energies would dramatically accelerate his progress, as he could absorb both components.

He discovered, however, that he could not absorb elemental energies when they manifested as arcane arts unleashed by others. He confirmed this by instructing Lin Li to emerge and attack him using her wind abilities. Although Lin Li's wind attacks were not classified as arcane arts, they bore a resemblance. Lin Li possessed the capability to manipulate wind, forming sharp wind darts for distant assaults.

Amon attempted to absorb the wind darts hurled by Lin Li but failed. The reason was not the inherent volatility of the elements. He could not even absorb the gentle winds Lin Li employed for her aerial maneuvers. He deduced that the inability to absorb Lin Li's winds stemmed from their inherent connection to a master, in this instance, Lin Li herself. He could only absorb elemental energies from nature that were without a master.

He lamented this limitation, realizing that otherwise, he would have inadvertently created an art capable of countering any arcane art.

Despite this, the cultivation art offered a substantially higher rate of improvement compared to his previous techniques. Not only could it absorb natural elemental energies, but its aether absorption capacity was also far greater. Moreover, he had engineered this cultivation art for dual use, applicable to both his divine and infernal cultivation paths. When engaging his normal energy core, it would absorb elemental energies of divine origins. Conversely, when directed at his black energy core, it would absorb infernal elements.

He christened this new cultivation art the Infernal Divine Absorbing Art. He remained uncertain of its rank or the ultimate cultivation level achievable through its practice. However, he estimated its grade to be comparable to the Prey Absorbing Art, upon which it was based.

He promptly put the cultivation art into effect. Although this cavern existed in a separate dimension, it occupied a significant portion of real space. This real space encompassed a ley node imbued with the darkness element. Furthermore, this dimension originated from an energetic explosion emanating from that very ley node, making the entire dimension saturated with darkness elements. Additionally…

Amon's gaze drifted upwards towards the swirling blackness adorning the ceiling. That entity could arguably be considered a colossal ley node for the darkness elements, containing an unimaginable quantity of darkness energies.

This fact served as another motivation for Amon to innovate a cultivation art capable of absorbing elemental energies. His hypothesis was that by siphoning the darkness elements inherent in this dimension, the gateway might be sufficiently weakened to permit his passage. Thus, he sought to achieve two objectives simultaneously: bolstering his own strength while concurrently engineering an escape route.

However, after diligently practicing the cultivation art for several days, a sobering realization dawned upon him: one of his aspirations was proving to be excessively ambitious.

While the Infernal Divine Absorbing Art undeniably accelerated his cultivation at an unprecedented rate, the prospect of completely draining this pocket dimension of its darkness elements, at least within his desired timeframe, was proving to be an insurmountable challenge. His estimations suggested that depleting the dense darkness swirling around the overhead gateway would likely require millennia.

Despite this setback, Amon refused to surrender. He still possessed a final gambit, an approach he had glimpsed during his initial entry into this pocket dimension. He vividly recalled the sensation and had spent the intervening days, while absorbing darkness elements, attempting to decipher its essence.

Nonetheless, he found himself unable to recreate that elusive feeling.

His gaze once more ascended to the vortex of blackness above. This time, rising to his feet, he declared, "No pain, no gain," his voice echoing slightly.

Lifting off the ground, he drifted towards the ominous gateway. The intensity of its power was palpable, growing more potent with his proximity. To enter meant certain annihilation by its ferocious energies. Moreover, even if he miraculously survived, his progress would be negligible. The energy flow was strictly unidirectional, serving only to transport entities from the external world into this realm; it never reversed its course.

During his confinement here, he had witnessed the gateway expelling remnants. Predominantly, these were the skeletal remains of bizarre spirit beasts, occasionally interspersed with human or Hyanid bones. This suggested that the Hyanids in the outside world had likely conducted further Worthiness Trials.

Amon extended his hand, reaching towards the amorphous darkness. The instant his fingertip made contact, an electrical shock coursed through him. He recoiled, wincing, and examined his finger. The skin at the tip had been stripped away.

A wry chuckle escaped him. "Well, as I stated. No pain, no gain." Taking a profound breath, he plunged his entire hand into the swirling darkness.

"Grrhhh…!" He clenched his teeth against the agony. It felt akin to thrusting one's limb into a relentless meat grinder. His hand was being brutally torn asunder.

Yet, he steadfastly refused to withdraw it. With sheer force of will, he maintained its position within the vortex. He further commanded his mind to disregard the excruciating pain, instead directing his focus towards the phenomenon of his body part being immersed in such potent darkness. He perceived its untamed power, its terrifying essence, its inherent indifference, and above all, its unyielding ruthlessness. It consumed all, even light itself. When all else ceased to exist, darkness endured. In the absence of everything, darkness prevailed.

The profound realization he had skirted during his initial passage through the gateway began to resurface. He hadn't achieved full comprehension then, primarily due to his fading consciousness and the overwhelming suffering coupled with the seemingly inescapable doom. This time, however, he was prepared.

Pushing the pain to the periphery of his awareness, he concentrated his entire being on unraveling the fundamental nature of darkness. What initiated its existence? What propelled its actions? What was its ultimate purpose? Though no direct answers were forthcoming, he felt an undeniable closeness to the essence of darkness. It no longer felt like an alien force; he sensed a measure of understanding. In some inexplicable way, he knew that he could merge with it, should he choose to.

Abruptly, a resonant bell tone chimed. It was an unusual sound, imbued with a sense of joy – the last thing he anticipated hearing in this desolate place and at this critical juncture. A disembodied voice, genderless and emanating from the depths of his mind, accompanied the bell.

"Congratulations! You have comprehended a law, the Law of Darkness. Do you wish to accept it?"