Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 220: Thousand Essence Flower

Jack stood panting over the Final Guardian’s body. His legs were wobbling. His mind was swimming. Not falling over was the most he could do, but it didn’t matter because he had won!

“YES!” he shouted, raising a fist to the sky. That action unbalanced him, and he fell on his butt. The Life Drop’s metamorphosis was already reverting, and he was so devoid of energy that even his regeneration didn’t kick into effect. A screen appeared before his eyes:

Congratulations! Title “Eighth Ring Conqueror” upgraded to “Ninth Ring Conqueror!”

Efficacy of all stats: +40% → +50%

The rush of stats returned some power to Jack, who barely managed to stand. He first looked at the once glorious throne room around him. Now, it was ruined. Half the columns had been demolished and lay in debris. The walls, floor, and ceiling were filled with craters and cracks. Thin stone dust covered the floor. And, of course, part of the room was blackened where the final explosion had spread.

It was utter mayhem. So utter, in fact, that Jack momentarily marveled at how he had participated in a battle of such ferocity. After all, this room wasn’t made of simple stone—before developing his third Dao Root, he wouldn’t have even been able to scratch it.

He then looked outside. Through the still-open wooden door that had thankfully avoided the explosion, three sets of eyes were staring at him with intense pride and joy. Brock was jumping up and down, unable to contain himself. Gan Salin was bragging about something to Nauja—knowing him, it was probably something along the lines of “I made that kid.” As for the barbarian girl, her eyes were starry and filled with wonder. At that moment, she truly admired Jack as a fellow warrior.

He smiled and waved at them.

Finally, he directed his gaze downward, at the old man’s still body. Did I kill him? he wondered. The iron armor was undamaged, and his helmet cover had fallen over his face, so Jack couldn’t tell. One hand was missing from the wrist, and his mace still lay across the hall.

Suddenly, motes of silver light rose from the floor. They surrounded the old man’s body with blinding brilliance, forcing Jack to avert his gaze. When the light dimmed, he looked back to find the old man standing before him again, whole and well.

“Well done,” he said in a voice full of emotion. He didn’t seem to mind that he had lost. “Well done, child… Well done!”

“Thank you, senior,” Jack replied, bowing with a smile. “It was a great battle.”

“Indeed! That transformation you used, and expelling your Dao to counteract my domain… Superb! I have to admit, losing for the first time in a million years feels much better than I thought it would.”

Jack smirked. “Has nobody else defeated you, senior?”

“Nobody. There were some people who came close, but…”

Through his exertion, Jack forced himself to focus. “But how can that be? I know that I’m stronger than most, but we are talking about an entire galaxy’s worth of geniuses over a million years. How did I, a random guy who just got Integrated, do something that all those couldn’t?”

“The winning path seems simple to the winner, but only through the eyes of the losers can you tell the difference,” the old man replied. “True, there were other people with four Dao Roots and a perfect Dao Seed before—what we call perfect mortality, or perfect foundation. But how many of them had titles as good as your Integration ones? How many were as experienced in life-or-death battles? How many had the good fortune of stumbling upon one of the rarest and strongest items in existence?”

“That’s true, I guess…”

“At the end of the day, young man, don’t think too hard on it.” The old man smiled. “You made it. That’s what matters. Celebrate a little!”

“Hah. I already shouted out before, you were just too dead to hear me.”

“Dead? Please. This is just a proxy body. My real strength is far above the D-Grade. Even if I let you hit me for a thousand years, you couldn’t even bruise me.”

Jack laughed. When not fighting or condescending, this old man was actually pretty pleasant.

“Anyway,” the old man continued, “shall we proceed to the Final Ring? You can take your spiritual companion along, if you want to.”

Jack pointed at the door. “What about my other friends?”

“They can’t come, unfortunately, unless they defeat me. But I can notify them when you teleport out of Trial Planet, if you want, so you can all exit at the same time.”

Jack considered it for a moment. “That would be great. Thank you, senior.”

“Not a problem at all. Now…”

The old man raised a hand. Jack felt the air coalesce in a line above his head, and Brock suddenly started floating. “Bro!” he shouted in panic and tried to punch the air, but Jack only laughed. The brorilla floated smoothly through the door and entered the throne room.

“See you soon, guys!” Jack shouted at Salin and Nauja. “You will be notified when I teleport out, so we can all leave together.”

“Okay! Have fun with your friends; just remember to return before bedtime!” Gan Salin shouted back as the door swung closed on his face.

Jack, Brock, and the old man were left alone in the throne room.

“Could we have your name now, senior?” Jack asked.

The old man laughed. “You did defeat me. I suppose you can.”

Jack’s surroundings suddenly melted away like they were just a dream. He found himself on what resembled a tiny planet in the center of the world. Six sun mushrooms hung on the ring ceiling, around a mile away, each in one cardinal direction. The ground under their feet was a sphere barely a hundred feet in diameter.

And yet, the power of gravity here was astonishing. Even with over five hundred points in Strength and a combined +75% efficacy from his titles, Jack found himself straining to stay on his feet. The dense air deposited Brock on the ground, but a thin silver barrier appeared around him, helping him withstand the increased gravity.

“What is this?” Jack asked.

“The Final Ring,” the old man replied emotionally. “The core of Trial Planet. My home.”

A little wooden cabin was visible in the distance—which, given the tiny sphere’s curvature, wasn’t more than a few dozen feet away. Besides that, only grass covered the ground, swaying gently like it wasn’t under mountain-crushing pressure.

“This is no house,” Jack said. “It’s a prison!”

He couldn’t imagine living in such a tiny place for a million years. However, the old man only laughed.

“My cabin is larger on the inside. I am also not restrained here—I am actually the spirit of Trial Planet, so I can see and hear everything that happens inside it.”

“Really? Then, why were you surprised by my transformation?” Jack asked. He remembered that, when he used the Life Drop, the old man’s eyes had gone wide as saucers.

The old man gave a wry smile. “Well… Almost everything. Some spaces are isolated, for both my sake and theirs. Besides that, however, this planet is my body and world. Saying I am trapped here would be like saying you feel cramped in your own body.”

Jack’s eyes brightened. “So, you are the spirit of Trial Planet. What does that mean?”

“It means that I control this place. I am responsible for the smooth operation of everything: the resetting of Labyrinth Ring every few months, the reactivation of traps, managing the monster population, restocking the treasures, keeping immortals out of this planet… Everything. You asked for my name, but I don’t have one—if I do, that is Trial Planet. You can also call me spirit, if you want.”

“Senior Spirit, then,” said Jack, who remembered Master Shol’s lessons on galactic etiquette.

“Bah, that’s too formal. You’re my only guests in forever. Just call me Old Man Spirit.”

“Then why—” Jack took a deep breath. “Okay. Old Man Spirit it is.”

“There you go.” Old Man Spirit smiled. He still wore his iron armor, and his mace had returned to his belt at some point. He turned to Brock. “And I suppose this brorilla is Brock, right?”

Brock nodded and reached out for a handshake. Bemused, Old Man Spirit complied. Watching a knight and a brorilla shake hands was quite a funny sight.

“Now, before we get to your rewards, do you have any other questions for me?”

Jack considered it. The thought of rewards intrigued him—just what treasures could the Final Ring hide?

Before that, however, he did have a few things he wanted to ask. Old Man Spirit was a powerful, ancient existence that knew about his Life Drop secret. Finally, he had someone to give him actual information.

“Can you tell me about the Old Ones, senior?” he asked.

Old Man Spirit raised a brow. He seemed cautious. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“Many things, actually, but the most important is…what exactly happened between the Old Ones, the Ancients, and the Immortals? I have heard that the Old Ones killed the Ancients, and so the Immortals created the System to defeat them. However, I have also seen evidence that the Ancients worshiped the Old Ones, and that the System itself is hunting down any Ancient remnants. All those things together don’t add up. What really happened?”

Old Man Spirit didn’t reply immediately. His eyes were narrowed, like he was thinking. Eventually, he said, “I am limited in what I can divulge. Even if I wasn’t, however, I wouldn’t tell you. You are still too weak to partake in those secrets. When you become strong enough, you will naturally know.”

That told Jack nothing.

“Is there nothing you can tell me?” he insisted. “I may be too weak right now, but I still interact with all those forces. The System wanted me to report something to the Hand of God. The Hand of God is looking for the Life Drop inside me. The Black Hole Church is trying to recruit me, but I know nothing about them. Can you guide me even a little bit?”

“No.”

“Come on, Old Man Spirit. Please!”

The old man hesitated for a moment. Finally, he said, “I am limited in what I can reveal. I have signed a Dao Contract to keep some secrets. However… If someone is chasing you, you naturally want to stay away from them, right?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Right. I want to stay away from the people who are chasing me.”

“Of course. That’s a sensible choice to make.” Old Man Spirit nodded. “And, if somebody wants to become your friend, isn’t it rude to decline?”

Jack tried to interpret these words. If he got it correctly, Old Man Spirit was telling him to stay away from the Hand of God and join the Black Hole Church.

Which made sense, actually. The Hand of God was after him, probably, and the Black Hole Church had helped him on multiple occasions. Still, it was nice to get confirmation.

“Okay,” he replied. “I think I understand, senior. Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

The issue was, Jack still had no idea what was going on with the Old Ones, the Ancients, and the Immortals. He didn’t know what connections the Hand of God and Black Hole Church had with those groups.

On the bright side, he didn’t need to bother. He should be friends with the Church and run away from the Hand of God—simple.

“Speaking of that,” he said, “if, hypothetically speaking, the people chasing me had surrounded Trial Planet and were deep-scanning anyone who exited…would they find anything suspicious on me?”

This was the most burning question in his mind. The Ancient voice had warned him that if anyone discovered the Life Drop, terrible things would happen. Since the Hand of God was here, and they had “deep-scanning equipment,” could he even leave Trial Planet?

Old Man Spirit seemed to share his concerns. His gaze darkened. “Hypothetically speaking, that would be terrible. You would not want those people to find you.”

That was the last thing Jack wanted to hear.

“Is there a way to avoid them?”

“Not unless they’re idiots. Trial Planet isn’t that big. Even if I teleported you to a random point of the surface or one of the two moons, they would find you easily.”

“Shit.” Jack gritted his teeth. If there was no way out, what he supposed to do? Die? “Couldn’t you teleport me farther out?” he asked. “Even in the middle of space. I could get a helmet and—”

“And go where? Do you have any idea how long it would take you to reach any planet from the middle of nowhere? Not to mention that they would still find you. My powers cannot teleport a mortal too far.” He sighed. “Listen. You carry the inheritance of my creators. I don’t want you to be captured…but there really isn’t much I can do.”

Jack wrung his brain for a solution. “Don’t you have a teleporter?” he asked. “I was transported across half the galaxy before. If you have one, I could go directly back to my constellation.”

“I do not. Normal teleporters don’t work inside my planet. The best I could do was use some of the energy of Trial Planet to forcefully teleport you away, but that would put tremendous strain on you. Before becoming an immortal, enduring it is impossible.”

“What if I did become an immortal?” Jack asked. “I am close, right? What if I meditated and broke through?”

“You are not close at all. Becoming an immortal takes years of experience, even for the most talented of cultivators…but I guess that’s all we can do. I, too, have sensed the hypothetical forces surrounding my planet. They will certainly catch you if you just teleport outside. The only way is for me to send you far away, and for that, you need to first become an immortal.”

“Then—”

“It is not a problem.” Old Man Spirit shook a hand. “You can cultivate here. It will be a bit boring for you, but if you work hard, you should be able to break through within a year or two.”

“A year or two!?” Jack gaped. “Senior… You may not know this, but I am in a hurry. I must return to my planet within eight months from now and defeat a C-Grade planetary overseer, or at least secure someone who can protect me against them. Otherwise, everyone I know will die. I cannot spend a year here. Isn’t there a faster way?”

Old Man Spirit gave him a level look. “I was not aware of that. In other words, you have to leave my planet within seven months at the latest, and the only way to do that is to become an immortal.”

“Right. I have used a Dao Sprouting Pill before. If you can give me something similar, I can try to break through faster.”

“A Dao Sprouting Pill would not be enough. Even if I had another, it is meant to help someone already on the precipice of breaking through, not someone like you who’s still a ways away…”

“Then, some other treasure. You mentioned I get rewards for defeating you, right? Isn’t there anything that can increase cultivation speed?”

The old man hesitated. “There is, actually…but you shouldn’t use it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s too dangerous.”

That was music to Jack’s ears. Since when was he afraid of a little danger?

“I can handle it,” he said quickly.

“You don’t even know what I’m talking about. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” the old man said sternly.

Jack realized he’d rushed it a bit. “Sorry,” he said. “Could you tell me more about this treasure?”

Old Man Spirit hesitated for a second, then sighed. “I suppose I can. You see, I do have a treasure that can help you break through in time. In fact, let alone eight months, it can let you break through in one day.”

“One day!?” Jack’s eyes went wide.

“Yes…but, of course, that would come at a price. Take a look.”

The old man waved his hand. Suddenly, an item floated before Jack. It looked like a flower with a yellow core and white leaves, each painted with mystical swirling patterns. Even looking at it made Jack dizzy, like the mere sight of this flower was activating some hidden switch in his brain.

“This is the Thousand Essence Flower,” Old Man Spirit explained. “It has absorbed the essence of a thousand immortals and their Daos. When consumed, it temporarily links your mind to that essence, greatly expanding your ability to comprehend the Dao. It would be like having a thousand immortals debating the Dao with you—given your perfect and decently solidified foundation, it would allow you to instantly break through and become an immortal.”

“It’s that powerful!?” Jack’s eyes widened.

“Yes. In fact, not only will this flower let you break through immediately, it will also ensure that your Dao Tree is as robust as possible, not harming your foundation in the slightest.”

Despite all these strong words, Jack’s gaze actually darkened. This flower sounded too good to be true. The catch, whatever it was, had to be equally tremendous.

“And the downside?” he asked.

The old man smiled sadly. “With danger comes opportunity, but the reverse is also true. Treasures like this are actually too useful. As a result, the Dao frowns at their usage. Have you ever heard of a tribulation, Jack?”

“I have not.”

“With the assistance of such a powerful treasure, anyone could reach the D-Grade—that breaks the rules of the Dao, which state that only the worthy may advance. As a result, the Dao will inflict a tribulation on you—a test, if you will. If you succeed, you will be deemed worthy, and using this treasure to save time will be acceptable. If you fail, you die, and your Dao is shattered. However, tribulations are not easy. They are a particularly feared form of deadly torture. If anything, breaking through the normal way is significantly easier.”

Jack raised his head. He ran over his choices, and realized he only had one. As long as it was a test, he was confident he could pass it.

“I can handle it,” he said. “Give me that flower, senior. If I can save time by just enduring a tribulation, of course I’ll do it. In fact, this is exactly what I was looking for.”

“I don’t think you understand how perilous tribulations are.”

“Do I have another choice? I cannot spend a year here, and there is no way to exit safely before becoming an immortal.”

“It is a great risk. Cheating the Dao is harder than it sounds.”

“I understand, senior, but I must do this. Besides, you said that the tribulation is a test. Given my power, do you think I would fail?”

The old man looked him up and down. “Not necessarily…but a tribulation tests more than your power. Regardless, this is your choice to make. The Thousand Essence Flower is one of the treasures I would offer you—you can have it.”

The flower floated toward Jack, who grabbed it gently by the stem. From up close, its fragrance was intoxicating. Every whiff activated parts of his brain he didn’t even know he had.

“Besides this flower, what other treasures could I have chosen, senior?” he asked curiously.

“You can only have one treasure, as per the rules. However, your other choices would have been a starship that can travel at incredible speed and give you insights on the Dao of Space, as well as a one-use weapon with the power to instantly kill anyone below the B-Grade.”

“What?”

That weapon could just get rid of the planetary overseer directly. However, Jack didn’t think about it too much. Even if he got the orb, he wouldn’t make it back to Earth before the end of the grace period—and, by then, there would be many more immortals present than just the planetary overseer.

Besides, the flower could contribute directly to his personal power—the one thing he could always rely on. External assistance, like weapons, were not trustworthy.

“Since you chose this flower, I would suggest using it to break through immediately,” the old man said. “Becoming an immortal in Trial Planet is forbidden, but that rule doesn't apply here. There is no need to wait, either. You already have everything in order. Just rest to recover your full strength, meditate for a few minutes, and when you feel ready, eat the flower to break through.”

Jack raised a brow. “Eat the flower?”

“Of course,” the old man replied seriously. “How else did you expect to consume it? By sniffing it in?”

“I thought— Nevermind. Who am I to disagree? Eating the flower, it is.”

“Perfect. You can even use my personal meditation spot for your breakthrough. I wouldn’t normally allow that, but…” He smiled widely. “I really look forward to the Dao Tree you develop, boy. And I hope you survive.”

“So do I,” Jack replied honestly.

The old man led Jack and Brock to a place on the other side of this tiny planet. It resembled a park kiosk with only a meditation mat placed in its very center. Sitting down, Jack felt like he was using the meditation mat from back in the Integration Tournament. His mind felt unnaturally excited, like he was in the middle of some grand inspiration.

With a knight and a brorilla watching him, Jack sat down, closed his eyes, took a deep breath…and meditated.