He had almost forgotten that crafting a high quality rune let him gaze at its true form for an instant, but there could never be too many ways for him to quicken his cultivation, so he calmly let himself fall into the endless void.

  Soon, he saw nothing but an obscure rune shrouded in darkness. Then, stroke by stroke, his intent illuminated the glyph, piercing the shadows and revealing its sublime form. If last time he was peering into the abyss with nothing but a small flickering flame trying to light up the abyss, then now it was as if the sun itself had descended to banish the darkness and lay everything bare.

  The true form of the rune was completely clear, and simply glancing at it let Avery learn from it. In this instant, he was finally able to completely appreciate what the rune really meant, and its purpose. It was not limited to the concept of storage, but it was linked with the idea of infusion, stability, homogeny and ascension. The rune was not simply gathering qi, it was dispersing it into the material it was etched upon, turning the mundane into spiritual treasures, and stabilizing said treasure to make it whole and suitable to accept more runes.

  This would have been great to know a long time ago, but now that his visualisation did not focus on any single concept nor cater to any specific rune, and that he could still not actually make use of the runes he carved, it was of little consequence. What he really valued was what was revealed as the rune was completely lit up.

  Every rune he knew had been constructed around a perfect circle, which he now knew represented the Tao. And now that it was brightly illuminated, he could actually look inside, and see the Tao.

  He was of course not seeing the real thing, he already knew how dangerous that would be, but it was giving him a small peek at the Tao's shadow. The volume of information was infinitely smaller than what his inner world or Dao vision provided, but for once it wasn't random. Instead of letting him haphazardly access an incomprehensibly huge database, it was guiding him in a very deliberate manner, showing him exactly what he needed to resolve his doubts and progress his cultivation.

  This new source of enlightenment had a very different effect than the ones he usually had, which would let him cultivate even faster. He would first rely on his inner world to provide the raw data, then use his Dao vision to compare and sort all of that information, before finally using runic enlightenment to fully understand it.

Ding, Congratulations, you have completed a Clear rune. +50 Points

  Avery couldn't help but smile as he was woken up by this notification. He wondered if there was anyone else in the world that had only drawn a single rune of the Tao Mirror level before surpassing it. Perhaps he was already making history?

  His smile grew even wider when he noticed the rune did not immediately shatter, but rather persisted for half a dozen seconds before it surrendered to the dragon power and disappeared. If he drew the Sil'piceus rune, then it would presumably be enough to become permanent, and if his different runes reached that level, then he would finally be able to fulfill his original intention and craft an item capable of liberating himself from this hellhole.

  He was proud of his accomplishment, and had no intention to stop improving anytime soon. Looking around for a while, he picked up the weathered list of a thousand different runes. He had bought it a long time ago, but had left most of them untouched. He had realized it was no more advantageous to know 1000 runes as compared to a single one, so why should he waste time and effort on them? He had originally bought them to provide some novelty, but even then he had taken it slow and only learned a new rune once in a while, to make them last as long as possible.

  However, now that he could learn their function by drawing them at the Clarity level, and subsequently use them to peer into the Tao, they had become relevant again. His inner world should be able to reach that level no matter which rune he engraved, so it was time to study them in depth.

  With renewed enthusiasm, he pursued his cultivation, alternating between using his inner world, his Dao vision and engraving for best effect, advancing forward at a record pace.

  This was the most fulfilling period of his life, as he was growing closer to the Great Way with each passing moment, and all kinds of different escape methods were steadily becoming more and more viable. Filled with hope and motivation, he appreciated each second of this peaceful life.

  Avery wasn't paying any particular attention to the Sil'piceus anymore, but with how much time he spent studying his inner world in general, he still remained very aware of their development.

  After the first schism was resolved by the Elder using powerful rhetoric and a sting of deadly coincidences, he had retreated behind the scenes, only offering advice in the most dire circumstances.

  He had not hidden himself, and instead had sat down on a stone platform directly under the Mystery, where everyone could see him. His placement was very conspicuous, but he had stayed immobile in meditation for so long, the uninformed simply assumed this was a statue. Most of the younger generation even believed him to have died of old age, as he would otherwise be past his thousandth birthday.

  Surviving a thousand years was not that impressive, as others, like the Owner, were also slowly approaching that age, but the Elder had disappeared before the Great Blessing, at the age of seven hundred years old. Since none had seen him be elevated as kin of blood, he must not have gained their infinite lifespan, and must have died before then.

  Even the Owner did not know if the Elder was alive or not. He knew where he was, and could tell he had not gone withered and hollow, but since a few decades before the great blessing, when the Elder had prophesied its arrival and told them to prepare, he had never talked or moved again.

  The Great Blessing, where the giant projection of the Sil'piceus rune had claimed the sky, had had a visible effect on each and every Sil'piceus. One of the more striking examples was the blood runes covering their shells, as well as a nascent control of their blood. The most powerful martial artist, like the Owner, had more than doubled in size, and had radiated an oppressive bloody aura. There had been a lot of movement and miraculous signs that day, yet the Elder had been unaffected, a motionless statue contemplating the Mystery.

  He was not alone on the stone platform either. Every few decades, some intellectuals who had reached a new realm of spiritual achievements would cease all of their activity, say their goodbyes, and join him under the Great Rune. When asked why they were doing this, they would always respond the same way, claiming that they had felt the call of fate, and once they sat on the stone platform, filling in a circle around the Elder, they would never move again.

  This was one of the disturbing mysteries that haunted the Sil’piceus, and it was the reason many feared to venture too deep in spiritual meditation. If even the Elder was susceptible to this curse, then who would be able to resist?