Cultivation Through Artifacts

In a vast world where the sky was azure blue and the earth was emerald green, a young boy wearing nothing but a single silver robe appeared out of thin air, his eyes scanning his surroundings with tranquility.

'So I have come back to the Zero Realm, huh? I thought I will be teleported back to the Second Realm.' Khal sighed in his heart as he saw he was in a colorful forest where the trunks and the leaves had different colors.

"So you have finally come back." while Khal was searching for a specific star in the sky to start his way back to the Second Realm, suddenly a familiar voice appeared from his side catching him by surprise.

"Hale?" Khal was startled to see Hail appear on his side, his ever so handsome face holding a gentle smile as he looked at him.

"So you do remember my name, that is a relief." Hale smiled with such calmness that he could easily put ones' mind at ease.

"Relief? I was away only for a single day. What do you mean if I still remember you or not?" Khal raised a brow, confused about what Hale just said.

"Just a single day?" Hale widened his eyes and touched his chin while murmuring, "So time in the Human Realm flows relatively slowly, I see, I see."

"Why, how many days have passed here while I was gone?" Khal decided to ask but to his surprise, Hale chuckled and waved his hand around.

"Days? No, no. Not days have passed, but months. Seven months and thirteen days to be exact." Hale said as if that was nothing unique.

"WHAT?" Khal, however, seemed stupefied by the sudden revelation and blurted out with eyes as wide as saucers.

"T-Then... How many days have passed in the Second Realm? Don't tell me..."

"Don't worry, time only flows differently here. If you have spent a single day in the First Realm, then in the Second Realm only a few days have passed or a week at the most." Hale quickly said with a smile.

"I-I see..." Khal calmed down in a blink upon hearing those words and asked, "Anyways, I need to get back to the Second Realm as soon as possible. Can you help me with that... please?"

Although he felt tense asking such a request from an immortal being, and an existence that could literally erase him from existence with a single snap of his fingers, Khal still decided to ask his question as he thought Hale was a rather chill guy.

"Naturally, that is why a come to find you in the first place." Hale said with a smile and said, "Although you are strong, in the Zero Realm you are still an ant."

[Hehe.]

Upon hearing Nova's small chuckle in his head, Khal felt his mouth twitch but knowing Hale was right he just sighed helplessly and showed an awkward smile.

"Well, that is true, so I will bother you to help me."

Hale just smiled and quickly waved his hand, changing the scenery around them in a flash!

Whoosh!

The colorful forest quickly changed into a golden shore with a vast and seemingly infinite ocean that extended beyond the horizon!

"This is the Realm Path to the Second Realm," Hale said as he gazed at the crystal clear water in front of him.

"Just go inside and try swimming as deep as you can. Then, you'll find yourself unable to go any deeper as a force will pull you back up, bringing you to the Second Realm." Hale explained what Khal had to do.

"I see, thank you." Khal nodded and was ready to leave before he was abruptly halted.

"Wait a second."

"Huh?" Khal turned around and with a raised brow watched as Hale pulled out a scroll from his pocket and handed it over to him.

"A scroll?" Khal accepted the scroll and turning it around he examined it.

It was an old feather scroll, seemingly millions of years old. Just by looking at it made Khal think it was already a huge surprise it didn't turn into dust under the passage of time!

The scroll was sealed by a single black string so it was apparent it could be opened without any struggle. However, when Khal wanted to pull the string, he found it with a shock that it didn't move a single inch much less allow him to open it!

"Why can't I open it?" Khal attempted to pull the string, but after the fifth try, he gave up and decided to ask.

"Just wait until you go back to the Second Realm. Then, you will be able to unseal it without a problem." Hale replied calmly.

"I see, but at least can you tell me what is inside it?" Khal couldn't help but feel his curiosity burn as the scroll in his hand was something he got from a powerful existence, thus it must be something important.

Hale pondered for a brief moment when he heard Khal's question, and said, "Let's just say it is a little help from me in your cultivation."

Khal frowned when he heard this but as he saw Hale wished to say nothing else he nodded and after thanking him again he jumped inside the water, quickly swimming toward the bottom like a fish!

Khal swam with great speed using only his pure physical strength, but when he swam a mile deep down just as Hale said an invisible force halted him, and even before he could have reacted he was pulled upward.

Splash!

Khal emerged from the water in a second and watched as he now was in a small pond, similar to the one from where emerged during his first time when he accidentally ascended.

"Haha! This is our lucky day boys! We have caught another one!" 

As Khal was looking around to see where he was, suddenly a voice appeared from behind his back, forcing him to turn around and see that a group of creatures grinned at him with greed and bloodlust in their eyes.

When Khal saw their looks and that they were up to no good, he sighed helplessly while summoning his Moonshadow into his grasp.

"And here we go again...."