Chapter 64: Totems and Closure Part 1

"Most mages and Practitioners are feared, or respected, enough to gain a title that all people acknowledge and use to identify them. It is usually decided by the person's achievements, his characteristics, or his spirit or unique spell. If you were at the Fiend Immortal tier, your title would be Tiger Immortal due to your spirit and strange Great Spirit Integration technique," Lu Rong began. "Shu, what do you think a shaman is?"

"Shamans are beings who communicate with spirits and harness their power over nature. They can do things no ordinary human can," Shu answered. "Kind of like my ability to control water, darkness, and lightning. My Practitioner is a beast and armor fusion spirit known as an Armored Ocean Tiger God spirit. I can create armor on my face, and limbs while I control the elements."

"That is correct. The one thing missing is a tool that represents that. It is called a totem. Tell me, have you increased in your soul condensation level?" Lu Rong asked.

"I have created a total of four planets and a meteor belt in my Soul Realm. I am at the seventh level," Shu answered.

"So fast. Not good. The more powerful the soul, the harder it is to make the totem. However, it is also harder to condense the soul once the totem is created. There is no middle ground," the empress sighed. "The more spirit energy you have, the more powerful the totem must be to use it. It is not like your Practitioner weapon. Yes, it is indestructible and becomes more powerful as you do. However the process is life threatening the more powerful the soul is. The more spirit energy one had before creation, the harder it is to make the totem. Regular Archons can make their totems at the Spirit Master tier. True Archons unlock the true potential of their totems at the tenth stage of Spirit Shaman tier, but gain the ability to make one at the ninth. All this is due to their unique bodies and the spirit reactors."

"What? They have a connection?" Shu asked, startled.

"Yes. It is through the totem, with the essence of a Spirit Beast, that a Practitioner can use the power of his spirit reactor. Regular Archons can acquire spirit reactors in their Mystic Stones, but it is too late as they lack the body. They would have to wait until they became Spirit Masters, like your father, to create and use their totem," the empress answered. "Totems are the very reason humans can kill with demons and magical beasts with innate abilities at the same ,or higher, power. The totem can do many things, but all totems have the same requirement: absorbing the essence of a Spirit Beast to unlock the power of the spirit reactors within one's own soul!"

"What? Spirit Beast? Is it some kind of magical beast?" Shu started and realized something. "Could it be? Is the magical beast core, used to make a spirit reactor, the core of a Spirit Beast?"

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

"Precisely! The ancient clans captured some Spirit Beasts and even breed them to make their spirit reactors. Thus, the totems for their clans usually have the same abilities. The ancient clans also only have two of the three kinds of Spirit Beasts. They are Chaos Spirit Beasts and Ancient Spirit Beasts. Thus, the true Archons of the ancient clans either Devil Immortal cultivators or Celestial Immortal cultivators. You need to absorb the essence of a Holy Spirit Beast to become a Sword Immortal cultivator," the empress beamed. "Making a totem does not require a Spirit Beast, but unlocking its true potential does. Most people wait until they have the essence of a Spirit Beast to make their totem as they don't know how powerful an item they need in the event that the totem cannot contain the essence of the Spirit Beast. That happened to my brother. Even though he waited to get a Spirit Beast essence first, the totem could not contain it and it killed him. One of the two spirit reactors you got from your father was actually my brother's, which he intended to absorb into his soul once he mastered the two he already had. It was the black mace spirit reactor and one he made without the assistance of the ancient clans. He would have had totem abilities no other person would have."

"It did feel powerful," Shu murmured as he remembered the mace. "What of his other two spirit reactors?"

"To make a totem, one must have two types of energies in the body and one spirit reactor to regulate each. The first spirit reactor was one my brother made by chance. How, even I don't know. The second was given by one of the ancient sects to help him make the totem. Geniuses among geniuses can contain up to four types of energy within the body. How many do you have?" Lu Rong asked.

"Three. One is my demonic red spirit energy. One is the vermillion energy of given by my Divine Weapon, Sentinel Bow. The last energy is that of an Old God. His name was Tralagafa the Magnificent," Shu answered.

"Heavens! You cannot spout lies! Three, I might believe. However, the energy of an Old God! I cannot believe it," the empress gasped.

"It's true. I also have a fragment of the Old God's crystals that sprouted and protected its shell," Shu said, taking out a radiant purple crystal.

"A fragment of an Old God," the empress gasped, tears falling as she fell to her knees while she held the crystal tenderly. "Oh, Rushi. You may have lost your life, but your nephew will have the power of your spirit reactor."

"Can it be the item to make my totem?" Shu asked.

"Yes! Especially since you have the spirit energy of the Old God, itself. The only thing we need is a suitable Spirit Beast essence. Leave it to me. The ancient clans failed my brother, but you will outshine them. Just like Ancestor Lu Feng, you will be an being above the ancient clans," Lu Rong cried. "What kind path of immortals do you wish to follow?"

"Being a Sword Immortal sounds good. The ancient clans are not Sword Immortal cultivators and I do like using a sword," Shu said.

"Great! Just like my brother. Rest assured, I will find a Holy Spirit Beast for you," Lu Rong cried as she gave the crystal back to Shu, holding his hands firmly as she stared in his eyes. "Thank you. Perhaps now I can find closure for my brother's death. You just cultivate to the peak of the ninth stage and do your duties as a prince of Yan. Tonight will be a great feast with the delegates and to celebrate your little sister's birth. Be sure to dress appropriately. The materials and various methods to make a totem will be in the vault. Many Practitioners of the Lu Clan have left various methods there, one of which your father used to make his own totem. It will not have a Spirit Beast within so it cannot use the power of the spirit reactors. However, basic totem abilities will suffice for now. Its true powers will be unlocked when you reach the tenth stage. I should have the Spirit Beast for you then."

"What?' Shu spouted as he was ushered out of the building, Lu Kui crying as she was separated from Supaiku.

"It seems humans are different than demons," Spook said as Shu arrived in his room. He had a small pagoda all to himself. Each of his magical beasts were given a floor and they were currently gathered in the top floor of the building, his room.

"Yes, totems. Who knew they contained the essence of Spirit Beasts. I now know where the magical beast cores of the spirit reactors belong to. However, I have an innate demon ability already. Is mine the same as Lu Feng's?" Shu asked.

"No. His purity is on a higher level and inherited a more powerful innate demon ability form the Great Ancestor. Of the fourteen Spirit Sages under the Great Ancestor, his innate demon ability is shared by one other. I only know that they have it, but not what it is. The Great Ancestor has ten innate demon abilities. Belonging to the demon race as ancient and powerful as the Golden Earth Fiend race, having ten is no surprise. What you inherited is the weakest but the most useful for one of human lineage. To rip out the Mystic Stone, or Mystic Crystal, of a human while it still breathes; one can only imagine how much more spirit energy you can drain," Spook said. "Well, you can't drain their unique energy but you can steal the spirit reactor. However, it is better to put them away and sell or give them to another. Five is already an astronomical number and the one needed for soul condensation. Any further might kill you. Just saying, master."

"Spirit Beasts are extremely powerful, no matter their cultivation," Wraith said. "I know this from before I was sealed in that gods forsaken book. Before I was fused into this puppet, I was what my name is: a wraith. Wraiths are beings made from the hate, envy, lust, and anger of multiple humans. We are living death energy given life. Most Devil Immortal cultivators strive to create a wraith. I don't know about Sword Immortals or Celestial Immortals, but Devil Immortals are extremely powerful. Most people choose the Celestial Immortal path as it is more suitable for regular humans. However, it is the weakest path."

"What is your next move, master?" Bahamut asked, all eyes turning to their master.

"I can only cultivate to the peak of the ninth stage as I await my mother's news. The Pantheon of Devils is our ultimate goal. We must prepare ourselves if we are to survive. Tonight is said to be a feast for the delegates of many nations. Some came to a regular morning meeting. Supaiku, you must behave during the feast," Shu ordered.

"Okay, boss," Supaiku said.

"My body will undergo a final transformation upon reaching the tenth stage. From there, I must use my ice flames to burn the last remnants of impurities in my body to become an Archon Phoenix. For now, I will make the totem," Shu said as he left to the vault to find a method to make a totem used by Sword Immortal cultivators. The royal guards bowed as Shu entered the vault. Shu narrowed his eyes, Supaiku growing to its full size, as Shu encountered Lu Ce, Lu Fei, and his two cousins within.

"The hell are you doing here?" Shu growled, drawing Freezing Tail. "Only the children of the emperor, the empress, the emperor, and the Spirit Sages of our clan are allowed inside."

"Calm yourself," Lu Yi said as he appeared behind them. "I let them in. My brother and sister no longer hold jealousy to me. Also, the Great Ancestor gave his command. They dare not defy him."

"Hello Lu Shu. I am impressed to see your progress," Lu Fei smiled. "Qing, greet your cousin."

"Hello, Prince Shu," Lu Qing bowed.