Avatar - Conquering the Elements-Chapter 171

120 years after the genocide of the Air Nomads. Spirit Realm. Valley of Two Worlds. Roku-Van-Yo-Yuki.

"This energy is so irritating!" growled Pavor, the Spirit of Fear. He hadn't expected to receive a hefty dose of life energy from me. "He can't keep living, or humans will grow stronger again!" Clearly, in his long life, he'd endured his fair share of beatings from cultivator practitioners.

*"You can always retreat, but testing your true limits against real—and cunning—enemies? That's another story..."* While he rambled on, I planned my next move. We had three ancient, cunning spirits here, roaming this world since the time of Van Shi Tong. But I was confident in my power: five sources, each honed to an ancient level, were a formidable asset. And life energy couldn't be overlooked—in our quick exchange, it was clear Pavor's gaseous form was far more sensitive to it.

*"Next month, troops are due to arrive, so I need to drive these powerful spirits away no matter what."* Our world desperately needs life energy crystals—their extraction will significantly impact humanity's overall strength.

*"If Agni were here, we'd handle this without much trouble."* His flames are something else. Ryuujin Jakka's fire, from a character I know in the "Bleach" universe, pales in comparison. One of Agni's unique abilities lets him devour enemy energy and stray particles in the air, growing stronger and hotter. Against Pavor's two allies—an ancient ice spirit and a strange mix of metal and stone—his flames would be the most effective.

My body began absorbing two energies simultaneously, pushing distractions aside. My eyes scanned for visible weaknesses. In the next second, my body transformed into lightning, appearing right in front of the unusually talkative Pavor. A millisecond later, a thick beam of life energy shot from my chest. Green mist seemed to devour his body, and his loud screams indicated it caused intense pain.

A massive, unnamed earth spirit materialized beside me. His enormous, clearly heavy metallic fist was poised to strike when... I used an ability I'd gained from mastering the ancient level of earth element. His fist was flung backward like a feather, slamming into his own body.

*"A profitable energy expenditure!"* I smirked inwardly, feeling surrounding earth particles flow into my source. Gravity manipulation—gravikinesis—was my unique ability. Of course, there's still much to learn, but its potential is breathtaking. It ignores the protective aura surrounding every spirit. If an object exists, it can be pulled or pushed. That's how, after repelling his fist, I absorbed nearby earth energy particles.

I'd love to learn to create spacetime distortions like black holes, but that's unlikely anytime soon. For now, the techniques I've mastered are enough, greatly expanding my arsenal. The most used include: telekinesis, levitation, object compression, weight manipulation, anti-gravity/zero gravity, and a gravitational barrier. Not all are second nature yet, but I'm working hard to integrate them into my fighting style. I'm doing this in reality now—Van Shi Tong's setup no longer serves me. I've outgrown it. After all, his formation can't convey even half the true power of an ancient spirit, something I hadn't noticed before due to my relative weakness as a mere superior.

My understanding of the core four elements has noticeably accelerated—or rather, simplified. I realized there's no need to complicate simple things. Take, for example, basic earth mage techniques: lift-push and lift-pull. It's all simple gravity manipulation, meaning I already have rudimentary control—I just need to develop this gift.

*"Unpleasant,"* I grimaced inwardly as I lost my grip on the earth spirit's other limb, causing my body to splatter in the air and losing a decent chunk of water energy in the process. Regaining my form, I tried to close the distance, with mixed success. The forgotten ice spirit gave me no chance, pursuing my lightning-fast body with a hail of spears, arrows, and other sharp, icy projectiles.

It was time to use another ability I'd gained after joining the ranks of ancient air spirits. One stream of my thoughts planned my path, two closely tracked the spirits' actions, and the last gathered the necessary air particles.

"Air Chaos Zone!" I shouted, perhaps a bit dramatically. *"Ugh, thirty-eight this year, and I'm still like this..."*

A vast number of air particles went wild, moving chaotically and repelling other elemental particles, preventing the use of energy around us. I can't use other elements now either, but none of my enemies have air magic or life energy. So the situation clearly favors me, leaving only Pavor as a real threat.

"He really needs to be consumed," intoned the ice spirit, his face growing even more sullen.

"Feel free to try!" I retorted, before propelling my body toward the stone spirit. His massive frame seemed the weakest of the trio. The heavy, glowing green armor that appeared on me spared my body the full impact of the collision. Extending my limbs as far as possible, I wrapped around his body, continuing to push us forward. The spirit's "friends" didn't spare him either—their area attacks caused problems for both of us. A particularly accurate icicle managed to sever my right arm, but it was too late... Our bodies were already in freefall, heading straight for the valley's bottom. The spirit's power began rapidly fading, visible in the chunks of rock peeling off him.

Soon, a heavy crash echoed. We'd reached the bottom. Thanks to the spirit, I landed without much jostling. Now, he was a pitiful sight. Having lost nearly seventy percent of his mass, only a metallic glint—his true body—remained.

"First one down!" The "metalhead" was seriously weakened, and even an ancient spirit would struggle among the thousands of life energy crystals here. I couldn't use magic in this place either, so...

"One!" Seventy percent of my life energy vanished, but in my surviving hand appeared a massive green hammer, which I brought down on the spirit's body. "Two!" The second strike was more impressive, severely deforming his body. "Three!" The spirit became even more flattened. Only on the twenty-second strike did he finally die. His earth energy served me well, significantly strengthening my source.

*"I knew they wouldn't try to save him,"* I thought as the spirits continued to glare at me, not even attempting to descend. And I understood why—down here, their powers would be a joke.

Grabbing a few crystals from the wall, I replenished my reserves. Crouching slightly, I leaped upward, my body practically shooting into the air. A massive dark cloud awaited me at the exit, forcing me to expend another huge chunk of life energy.

*"They're definitely planning something..."* A thought flashed through my mind. Usually, ancient dark spirits are extremely—no, very extremely—cautious, and the death of one would cause serious alarm and an attempt to "regroup," meaning a plain retreat. Yet they acted just as confidently, even arrogantly, here.

A minute later, unease grew as an intense cold emanated from the ice spirit.

*"Fk!"* My entire body was immobilized by an invisible force, unable to move even an eye. *"Did this damn spirit really freeze space and time?!"* Even if the ability's range was small, the fact he had such a powerful skill was envy-inducing. *"Apparently, the freezing effect is selective..."* Pavor calmly began enveloping my body with his disgusting-looking mist, which quickly "melted" my aura.

*"This is dangerous!"* My sources soon emptied completely, so the mist began corroding my skin, exposing tendons and muscles. I tried splitting into multiple bodies—no luck. Tried becoming lightning or liquid—also a failure...

*"Am I going to die so ingloriously?!"* Refusing to give up, I covered my head with the remaining life energy. I hadn't tested it, and probably never will, but I can't live without my brain. The rest of my body quickly corroded under his destructive energy, soon revealing my greenish bones.

*"One... two... three..."* The moment he touched my bones, an immediate reaction followed. The life energy crystals implanted in my bones did their job, severely wounding the spirit. The explosion was beautiful! And it destabilized the ice spirit's freezing ability!

Without hesitation, I absorbed the scattered life energy, restoring my body to its usual handsome form. Three bodies appeared beside me, only to vanish again.

*"Enough self-sufficiency—the days of solo play are over."* Before, I was stronger than all my loved ones and had to move alone, but now...

"Hi, dear!" / "Hello, husband!" / "How are you holding up, love?" Beside me were those I could trust with my back. Aine immediately took her true form as a massive golden dragon. Dria readied her "vampiric" plants. Gaia, who'd only recently become an ancient spirit, was already using her unique ability—releasing weakening pheromones around her. Alone, they weren't too dangerous, but their cumulative effect was their true threat. The longer the battle, the weaker your enemy becomes. And they will grow weaker—that's certain. We haven't found a defense against the pheromones yet.

Through the efforts of the two nature spirits, the entire area transformed into a dangerous forest, teeming with sharp-toothed, acid-spitting plants.

Due to the loss of spiritual energy, I mostly acted in a support role. But the girls hardly needed my help... Aine quickly demonstrated why her ancestors struck fear into both spirits and practitioners. Her life energy-infused claws mercilessly tore apart Pavor's body, while the ice spirit was systematically weakened. Dria's omnipresent vines fully restrained the enemy, denying them any chance to retreat.

It all ended in just a few minutes. The onslaught of three spirits with formidable abilities was too much for our opponents. The ice spirit's energy significantly enhanced my own.

"Seems he managed to escape after all," I noted. Pavor's "death" hadn't released any energy, meaning he'd somehow slipped away.

"We couldn't expect less from such an ancient and cunning spirit," remarked Gai, who'd heard about this particular spirit's cunning from her older kin.

"Dear-r-r-r," Dria drawled dangerously. "Maybe now you'll tell us why you didn't call us right away?"

"I'd also like to hear that," added Aine.

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"Their assault was so intense, I simply didn't have time!" I began passionately explaining, until I saw the ladies didn't believe me one bit. "Fine, fine, my fault, I'll do better! Let's go home! This isn't the best place for talking..."