The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse
Chapter 280 Heavenly Punishment

"You... you really have upgraded your element to that rank," Yuying said, her eyes widening as she gazed at the crystallized green ice suspended in Fruity's hands.

This time, just from a mere gaze, she could start to feel the illusions affecting her mind.

"It seems so, but what is this rank you keep mentioning?" Fruity asked. Although he had anticipated something like this happening sooner or later, he still wanted to know if he had made significant progress. Yuying tended to exaggerate at times, so he wanted a more in-depth explanation.

"Basically, just like there are ranks and stages for realm cultivation, anything that can be cultivated also has ranks, stages, or levels. The elements are no different. However, cultivating an element isn't something that can be accomplished easily.

The first stage, which all your other elements are currently in, is known as 'Common Rank.' It's the initial stage for all elements. The second stage is called 'Refined.' It's when you begin to understand the laws that govern the elements.

The third is 'Realm Rank.' After comprehending the laws of the elements to a certain extent, you can open a space within the element, known as an elemental space or realm.

This space will later help you to easily comprehend the laws and further increase their power output." Yuying was trying her best not to go full-on bookworm, but Fruity was rather intrigued.

"You once said the laws govern many things and that they are the same thing that restricts a paragon. So, if that's the case, would the same laws apply to a forbidden element?"

"Yes and no. Yes, because everything has laws governing it, and no, because if it's forbidden, then you're dealing with something entirely different," Yuying explained.

"I don't get it. Do the heavens determine my forbidden elements or not?" Fruity asked.

"They don't, but that doesn't mean nothing is enforcing these laws. The reason you don't feel restricted is because you have some level of supremacy over these elements," Yuying replied, trying her best to answer without invoking another heavenly punishment.

"So, is there another heaven that determines what is forbidden?" Fruity pressed.

"Yes and no," Yuying answered again.

"Then what is yes, and what is no? I just jumped a whole rank to unlock an entirely new realm. I feel like there's something here I need to understand," Fruity said, forgetting about Karma for a moment.

"When I was inside the elemental space, I sensed something... something important, something I feel like I should know."

"That will invoke Karma if I say something, Master," Yuying said in a light tone.

"Come on Yuying, I need to know this" Fruity asked making Yuying sigh helplessly. She knew what was about to happen but she didn't have the confidence to say no to her master.

"Forbidden Heavens," Yuying said just two worlds, but it was enough to make the heavens roar and dark clouds form. The entire bone mountain shook and from within the clouds, a thick spear made of red lightning shot out, aimed directly at Yuying who immediately turned pale.

"Abyssal Ice: Ice Wall"

"Eye of Despair: Void Eyes

"Bell of Harrows: Divine Bell"

Fruity spared no effort, sacrificing 80 percent of his spiritual energy to raise three powerful defenses, covering both him and Yuying.

BOOM

The spear pierced the dark, huge eye, shattering it instantly. It then struck the massive dark-red wall, which crumbled after a few seconds. With a resounding bang that shook the entire Bone Mountain, the spear finally collided with the bell.

It was a powerful impact, but the bell held, only cracking with a few lines before the spear dissipated. As the dust settled, Fruity collapsed on his back, gasping.

"That was close," he muttered, a small smile forming on his face. The smile came because when he heard those two words, another wave of memories from his third incarnation flooded into his mind. He now had a bit more clarity on things.

"So that bastard hid part of his memories in the realm of an element. What if I hadn't been able to awaken that element?" Fruity muttered, reaching for the pale Yuying to help him sit up.

Despite not being struck by the heavenly punishment, Yuying was still traumatized by the mental pressure she had received. It felt as if the heavens had looked down on her and spat in her face.

"Sorry about that, Yuying. I'll make it up to you later by helping you kill the Nine-Tail Fox to awaken your bloodline," Fruity said with a small smile, glancing at the Fox Lady who was trying to seem okay but failing miserably.

Fruity sighed, He walked closer and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Looking right into her eyes, he said, "I am sorry Yuying, I never knew the heavens would react that aggressively."

Yuying nodded but was still pale. Fruity planted a kiss on her forehead and then he let go.

With a wave of his hand, a mist of green ice appeared, enveloping her. "Maybe a few hours inside this illusion will help," he said, feeling guilty for pressuring her into that situation.

But he had no choice. The thing he sensed required her to say those words, so even though he knew what was coming, he had to know. Yuying, ever the good guide and servant, had decided to sacrifice something.

Saying those words had surely been reason enough for the heavens to target her, but Fruity had anticipated that and was prepared. The heavens hated his existence but couldn't outright kill him, so they were always listening for when he slipped up, ready to set him straight.

Now, Fruity had once again unlocked part of his memories from his third incarnation. Although he still didn't know exactly who he had been back then, he had more than enough now to know he had been someone very brilliant.

"Hiding memories inside an elemental space—that was genius," Fruity thought, sitting in lotus posture as his Immortal Ice started healing his fatigue.

The memories he received were more like pieces of information: cultivation techniques and locations of some treasures in the Tormented World. Fruity knew better than to fully trust the information.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his past self. After all, that would be ridiculous. He trusted his past self, but he also knew that the information wasn't safe to follow blindly.

He had already tried that once and ended up in a den of Hellhounds.

So he knew better than to charge in headfirst. With Yuying's guidance, he would enter a witch's temple and get the chance to partake in the Tormented Bloodline Awakening Trial. Once he awakened his bloodline, he could pursue those treasures—after all, he needed them for what was to come.

After a few hours, Fruity had recovered 80% of his spiritual qi, so he stood up and began climbing to the peak of the mountain. Yuying still hadn't woken from the illusion yet, so all he could do was go replace what he had come for.

At first, he wasn't sure what that was, but after unlocking another section of his memory, he knew where to go. Even without the memories, though, he wouldn't have wandered aimlessly for long.

Upon reaching the peak of Bone Mountain, Fruity quickly moved to a particular spot where a stone statue stood. Without wasting any time, he jammed his staff into the statue, shattering it.

The moment the statue broke apart, a palm-sized cylindrical object fell and hovered before him. Even though he knew what to do and where to go, he had no idea what the object in front of him was. Nevertheless, he grabbed it, stored it in his space ring, and began his descent down the mountain.

A while later, Yuying woke up from the illusion, looking much healthier.

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"Thank you, Master," she said with a small smile, but Fruity could tell she was pretending. She was still shaken, but not wanting to make her lose confidence, he simply nodded and retrieved the disc-shaped item he had gotten from the peak of the mountain.

"Do you know what this is?" Fruity asked, showing the disc to Yuying.

Yuying's eyes widened. "This... this is a soul item, but not just any soul item. It's one of the Nine Forbidden Ancient Relics, the Seven Star Forbidden Diagram!"