Quest Maker: 373 (Patreon)

Title: Fatal Path (1)

The idea behind Ja Yin's initial design was simple.

She would be the core.

But before that, her needs which led to this idea were equally simple— she desired kids. She could have offspring with any beast but that's not what she or others like Zi Ji wanted.

Sure, one may consider the fact that beasts like Zi Ji may not even desire offspring but Ja Sun believed that this is only true until the option presented itself. For all their barks about them desiring strength above all... once you have a beast hooked on you, she stays. Literally. There are not many things one can do to make said beasts repulsed.

To make this work, however, means going against the set conventions of heaven.

Beast and man can only have offspring in one situation— When a 100000-year-old beast turns into a human.

Yet this is one of the rare things that repulsed the majority of the beasts. The odd ones like Ah Yin, Xiao Bei, and Xiao Wu are a rarity, yes. But most beasts like Ja Yin, Snow, and many others would not want to give up their origin much less more prideful beasts like Zi Ji.

So, the only way Ja Yin saw fit was to defy the heavens. And with an evil attribute of Destiny... Ja Yin may just be one of the more prominent figures that CAN defy the heavens and not endure any tribulations.

But Ja Sun's more recent understanding complicates things quite a bit.

Tribulation is not merely an attack from the sky.

Heaven is the largest umbrella. It's the greatest manipulator.

Defy heavens enough time then the tribulations will also become trickier. Instead of a bolt from the sky, one's surrounding may shift subtly.

Zi Ji can be more irritated and one day she may flip off and kill others.

Ah Yin may die while giving birth due to some complications.

Any one of their teammates may suffer a backlash for god knows what!

So, Ja Sun isn't keen on actively pursuing conflict with heaven. Not unless he is confident enough to break free from its presence and his domain of equality might just work then. But until that moment, Ja Sun would have to vent by finding shit with Gods.

So, with that thought in mind, the array itself needed a little bit of tweaking.

And since only a rough design was present, the tweaks were made to that design or runes and then they started the major work.

While Ja Yin and Violet both had lower comprehension of arrays, they were firmly in a position where they can understand the work that Ja Sun is trying to accomplish.

The array is set on a foundation of Qian Xunji's blood, flesh, hair, organs, and even bones. Blood red scriptures gave an eerie glow but this is merely the bare minimum of structure. The array still needs many fail saves. It still needs a lot more directions and functions.

But taking almost 15 hours just to help Ja Sun by inscribing more than 78000 runes and patterns over a triangular array with each side 200 meters long, Ja Yin and Violet began to feel exhausted. To be precise, mental exhaustion. Their bodies are far too durable to feel exhaustion in such a short duration.

But their expenditure of mental energy to write these runes was quite startling.

So... Ja Sun's next words came as quite a shock to the duo.

"It will still take weeks to complete this array and I need to be a Grandmaster in the Law of Blood, too... or Destiny. By then, we will be already upon the Sea God Island so don't expect this project to finish quickly."

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Ja Yin inquires as he turns and looks at her with a spirited gaze. Unlike them, he can go on for days but this is a Divine Array without a doubt. Just like the Divine Grace Array that needs Divine Intent or Energy, this array will need a divine touch to finish.

Even if Ja Sun didn't have Divine Intent, Qian Xunji's body parts laying the foundation means that this array already has all the divine blessings it needs. But... to Ja Sun, that alone is not enough.

This array will either rely on this bloody foundation or Ja Yin's attribute of destiny.

It already took Ja Sun a lot longer to comprehend the bare minimum of the law of time to become a master. With his meager affinity with Destiny due to his bond with Ja Yin, he suspects that this particular Law would not come to him easily so...

Law of Blood it is. He is already a master in it. And he has an idea of how to become a Grandmaster.

Of course, Evil Sage's Third Eye would not work. That artifact only allows Ja Sun to comprehend the laws that he has an affinity with and that, too, he is already a master in.

So, both his Evil Sage's Third Eyes were with Bibi Dong and Ah Yin. They would comprehend the Law of Poison/Toxin and the Law of Life.

"It's not an exaggeration," Ja Sun waves them off far too eagerly, indicating that he wasn't just done yet, "You guys should rest. We'll continue tomorrow. We'll also need as many varieties of materials as I needed to create the Wardrobe Rings. Might as well create more wardrobe rings for others."

"And us?" Ja Yin smiles with an expectant look. She doesn't like wearing clothes over her already velvety and lavish fur but... she knows she would love the gesture.

But if she expected to capitalize on his tsunami side then she calculated wrong as Ja Sun tosses both of them a look and shrugs, "You'll make them on your own. Wardrobe Rings aren't divine artifacts so it will be a good study for you two."

"Yes!" Violet shoves away her exhaustion and nods with a determined look, making Ja Yin roll her eyes.

"But... becoming a Grandmaster is easier said than done... these are your words, remember?" Ja Yin points out.

"Oh, it has become easier... just... well, expensive. A lot more than I expected. Just go rest. I'll discuss this with you all tomorrow and then we'll start our hunt in the ocean for real. We even have the materials from the five overlords so that's good enough to cover 7-8% of the material needed."

---

Not willing to play around the bush regarding the one thing skipping and hopping in his head, Ja Sun is quick to call others before going out into the Ocean for the hunt.

Who knew that their course 'conveniently' brushed along the region controlled by the Deep Sea Demonic Whales?

But brushing that fact aside, his plan... well, in hindsight, after everything that has happened, fails to shock the group.

Representing the group's nonchalance rather accurately when it is only Xiao Wu and Xiao Bei who feel worried by his declaration, not to mention Bing Bing who stifles her groan, Ah Yin inquires in a lazy tone, "So... you have to give a bit more context when you say you plan on dying? It's not like dying is a possibility of escape for you out of being responsible for our child when I am here... and most of your ideas consist of a healthy risk of death nonetheless."

Ja Sun chuckles as he looks across the room and notes, "I didn't think you'd be worried, too. Wasn't it just a one-night stand?"

Faced with an odd question in face of such a grim declaration, Feng Liu cannot help but feel a little pressured.

"Well..." adopting a sheepish expression she replies honestly. What more can she hide? Everyone around her knows she's a big M and Ja Sun's harem knows even more how she was quick to ride him at any given chance to the point that she wasn't Bibi's subordinate any longer... at least, behind the doors.

"I thought we'd have a lot of time to... ehm... bond..." She smiles at the end with her cheeks flushed slightly. But she still finds herself meeting others' gazes without a shred of nervousness. She has no reason to be nervous after all.

"Oh..." Ja Sun nods calmly and then directs his gaze at Bing Bing and Snow.

"What about you two?"

"If you're just inviting others to bang... do we even need to be here?" Hu Lana sighs.

"I have a reason why I'm asking all this," Ja Sun remarks seriously. For a moment, others cannot help but believe him. Yet... his record has always shown otherwise as his next words make Xie Xan snort a chuckle, "After all, I'll know who to gift a super realistic divine dildo when I die. It won't match my true potential but it'll be something."

"Just say your piece and drop dead!" Bing Bing hisses and fights back a furious blush.

"Ehm... I am being serious but whatever," Ja Sun shrugs, "And to be on point, when I say I am planning to die... it means the steps I take next mean nothing but death for me. At one point or another, I will face death and there is no running away from it. How should I put it... when you become as attuned to Laws, the Divine, and the Spirit while being a mortal, you understand yourself a lot more than you can imagine."

Sensing the sheer seriousness in his casual tone and a rather chilling note of the fact that... Ja Sun is stating facts instead of notions, and the group around him cannot help but feel more focused. After all, his plans do come at a healthy risk of fatality... but never has he been as casual and certain of death as he is today.

"Could you please explain things clearly?" Yuehua questions with a worried expression.

"Imagine this as me," Ja Sun nods with a smile and creates a skull-sized ball of white light in his hand. A pure display of the Law of Light being used through spirit energy to create simple spirit skills.

"Let's suppose this orb is my limit. It contains the ability to store nine spirit rings for both my martial souls as well as Spirit Souls that come along. It has the capacity to store the understanding of Laws. It has the capacity to accommodate spirit bones. All internal ones as well as external ones."

As he speaks, the orb of light grows bigger in his palm but Ja Sun expertly keeps the light from this orb on the softer side.

"This ball of light represents my path of growth as well as the limits of my body, mind, spirit, and soul. These limits, however, expand as we grow stronger. That is what is referred to as a breakthrough in the world of cultivation. But, at one point, the mortal body, mind, spirit, and soul hit a limit."

Saying so, the orb in Ja Sun's hand stops expanding.

At this point, Ja Sun reveals a mind-numbing smile filled with nothing but coldness, "This is my limit. As a mortal, I can defend against the divine but that is it. If true powerhouses of God could enter here, I'd be dead long ago. Not newbie sissies like Xunji but experienced ones even weaker than Poseidon. Of course, I have the skills to break past my limit and injure them but that is it.

I can injure them and they can kill me."

"But..." whispering as the room is entirely quiet while the soft glow from the orb of light reflects upon their faces, Ja Sun questions, "What if there is a third path of godhood that boldly combines the method of inheritance and becoming a God based on one's own merits?"

***

Alternate Title: Ja Sun's M is Showing; Divine Dildos; The Dao of Cliffhangers; The One Night Stand? More Like One Bang Ticket to Harem!; Bing Bing Wants You Dead, Do Not Resist!; Ja Sun Preparing to Escape Child Support!; Better Dead than Separated Husband!; The Baby-Making Array Resurfaces; Whoring Array!