An Unmovable Obstacle

A/N: School, or, to be more specific, Physics, has been kicking my ass lately, so I had to take a break from writing so I actually could pass the class. Anyway, I'm back now so sorry about the delay.

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Sun Wukong embedded his staff into the ground before sitting down. His fading figure made the atmosphere feel heavy yet empty at the same time.

"You look even worse than last time I visited." Lin Tao began making his way towards Sun Wukong as he took something out of his Spatial Ring. It was a diamond-like object shining a neon blue. Lin Tao saw Sun Wukong look towards it as he went behind him.

"It's called an Unfractured Soul Gem. They're rare even if you searched the entirety of the Grand Asura Nation there's probably no more than ten of them." Sitting down behind Sun Wukong, he wasn't on guard whatsoever. Lin Tao held the Unfractured Soul Gem in his hand while placing it against Sun Wukong's back.

"It's supposed to be able to strengthen and repair one's soul to an extent. If I add in my own power on top of that, I should be able to slow down the process you're going through." As if they had gone through something similar before. Flowing out of his body through his arm, strange energy began entering Sun Wukong's body.

At the same time, the Unfractured Soul Gem began emitting an outer aura resembling that of star's as its glow dimmed. As this was happening, Lin Tao closed his eyes. As he continued, memories flashed through his head, but they weren't his. They were the memories of the person he was helping.

Fragmented and in complete disarray. Entire chunks seemed as if they had vanished and been erased from Sun Wukong's mind entirely. Lin Tao's face was slightly contorted as sweat began to drip down his face. Using his own mind, he was reorganising the events and knowledge Sun Wukong's mind held.

But there was so much; he had gone through this experience before, but it made it no easier. Knowledge about world's that seemed infinite in nature, information about different forms of magic, abilities that seemed to go against logic and teachings that were taught over a period longer than Lin Tao had been alive.

He had looked over all of this countless times, and due to it, he understood Sun Wukong's state best. If someone's mind existed in this kind of turmoil, it was natural they would either go insane or simply not have a personality. Sun Wukong was the latter, although even that bridge was bordering.

'In the end what I can fix is only temporary. It's as if something is preventing Sun Wukong's memories from repairing themselves.' After doing this for more than eight hours, Lin Tao fell onto his back and caught his breath. Sun Wukong's ghost-like figure had given some type of solidity. At the same time, his state of mind and body seemed to go into hibernation.

"At this rate it's only a matter of time before he's gone. But I still haven't been able to figure out who sealed him here in the first place. His memories are just too disoriented. Even after doing this for so long I can only just barely stitch together his times with his first Master." Lin Tao was a normal cultivator in the Profound Sky Continent.

However, his first encounter when it came to Sun Wukong involved the latter helping him. It was a debt he couldn't ever repay. At the same time, it was at a point where Sun Wukong could still function properly. It's how he was able to learn thing's beyond the basics of cultivation he knew.

Profound Energy focuses on the combination of one's Cultivation Realm and their surroundings. The person representing the Profound and Earth while the Heavens can be considered the Energy itself. Manipulating it in certain ways would allow people to create Law's or Profound Ways.

The rule's created using Profound Energy allow for a number of things to occur, such as elemental abilities that went beyond the natural forces. It could also lead to methods of power that focused on the nonphysical, such as the understanding of the sword. It took the will to give up everything and anything, including desire, in hopes of reaching the realm of Gods.

It was complex in its own way but still understandable. With enough time, effort and talent, anyone could become a Cultivator of immense proportions. Yet Sun Wukong's strength came from something entirely different. Even after having access to his fragmented memories, Lin Tao could barely scratch the surface of the concept.

Instead, he could only utilize Sun Wukong's abilities to a fault due to him only having access to Profound Energy. But despite the limitations, Lin Tao knew how to make use of the worst of thing's let alone techniques used by a God.

"He shouldn't be waking up any time soon. Still, I should do this quickly." Back within Astral City, which was the name of the city Lin Tao had just left, thing's seemed calm, but quite the opposite was occurring.

"How could you let him get away! You- You!" A loud booming voice echoed through the red and brown wooden hall's shaking the pillars holding up the roof and the hearts of everyone there. Kneeling in front of an uplifted throne was Young Master Shi.

"Father I'm sorry… I don't know how he got away, the guards I had sent after him have not returned." Standing off to the side of the main walkway in the hall, all of the servant's remained rooted. Shi had returned after issuing a large-scale order under his family's name.

They practically owned this city, so all of their actions were in public view. And that was why his father was so angry.

"Not only did your action's admit to the embarrassment of what happened between you and your Fiance! But you failed to kill the person responsible! When the other Lord's of nearby cities hear of this well be drowned in shame…" Just the thought made Shi's father rub his head.

'He slept with my future wife and robbed us. So why does it feel like I'm being punished?' This entire situation made him wish he could tear Lin Tao apart. But even after what his fiance had done, she refused to talk about it or tell him where Lin Tao could have gone.

"Seal the city. I want no one coming in and no one getting out. He must have cooperated with someone while he was here. Well find them and torture the information we want out of them if we must." After regaining his calm, Shi's Father gave out an order.

The servant in charge of delivering messages bowed before quickly leaving the hall.

"Father what about-" Shi was cut off as his father glared at him.

"You will remain out of sight and out of my mind until this ordeal is dealt with. Your antic's have caused us more trouble than your marriage was worth." That was his final word on the matter as Shi lowered his head, biting his lip.

Meanwhile, the person in question was closer than the two of them could have thought. Standing far down the road that would lead into the city, a mist had enveloped Lin Tao's body. His appearance and body build completely changed to that of an old man.

Under that guise, he approached one of the gate's leading into the city. Clearly, the guard's were on edge, but after looking at Lin Tao for a moment and sensing no Profound Energy, they let him through without a hitch.

'Even without it being the real version, the 72 Earthly Transformations really are something.' Using this, Lin Tao could easily get through the city, not arousing an ounce of suspicion. Walking through the street's he began making his way to the poorer section of the city. If where Shi and his Father lived could be considered the upper-class district, this would be the lowest.

Buildings visibly became poorer and dangerously unkept. People's clothes were practically ripped rag's and everyone seemed sick in some form. Lin Tao was used to sight's like this, so they didn't bother him much. He kept walking as an old man until eventually, he found an alleyway between two buildings.

'Let's see if that scheming bastard is around here.' Looking around for a brief moment, Lin Tao's eyes locked onto a blonde-haired man. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties and had a shaggy looking beard, with dirty clothes. On Top of that, he was at the 4th Level of the Elementary Profound Realm.

The moment Lin Tao began approaching him, his head turned towards him as a conniving gratin appeared on his face.

"Hey, there gramps! What brings you all the way here? Something I can help you with?" Lin Tao stayed silent as the blonde-haired man spoke. But despite that, he continued to talk.

"I see, so you're interested in something right? Information perhaps? Need someone killed? No matter what it is, I can help you. I'll even give you a discount of 20%. How about it?" With no one paying attention to the low-end sheep of the city, businesses like this were able to boom.

"Hmm, you still owe me from two weeks ago. So how about you make that a full discount? What do you say, Mien Li?" Lin Tao's real voice came through as he dropped the Old Man pretext. Hearing the sudden shift and voice and his name being called, Mien Li's smile fell. At the same time, the mist from the 72 Earthy Transformations began to swirl around Lin Tao.

"You- Lin Tao? You're alive… Great…" Mien Li secretly cursed under his breath seeing Lin Tao.

"Missed you too but sadly time is of the essence for me. So I'm going to be cashing in all of those favours you owe me. I need you to help me find something." Mien Li frowned hearing that as he pleaded to Lin Tao.

"Dammit… Can't you just write those off? I got a business to maintain man. Trafficking information from the Black Moon Merchant Guild is hard, you know, even more so trying to make a profit from it." Lin Tao didn't say anything to that question as he just stared at Mien Li.

"Ugh… Fine! What do you want?"

"Good boy. Now I need you to help me find something of worth. Possibly that can strengthen or enhance a person's soul permanently. Of course, I won't be paying for it, so I don't care how expensive the item is." Mien Li put his hand on his chin before taking out a Sound Transmission Jade. It was a small gem-like rock that had slight engravings on its surface.

Mien Li's Profound Energy flowed into the jade as he seemingly spoke to it. The Sound Transmission Jade flashed when he was done. The two of them were left waiting for a few minutes before it flashed again, seemingly showing a message was received. Lin Tao was calm; however, his face shifted when Mien Li looked up at him and smiled.

"You said top quality right?" Lin Tao nodded his head.

"Well, then you probably want The Heavenly Preta Stone. Only one Sect was said to have it, which was the Rifting Array Sect here in the Grand Asura Nation." Lin Tao's eyes shined hearing that. The Rifting Array Sect was a well-known force. While their overall Cultivation Strength was low, they were masters when it came to building arrays.

Through that, despite only having a low-grade Sects level of strength, they were at the top of the hierarchy when compared to even medium graded Sects.

"Of course, that was in the past. The Heavenly Preta Stone had long been given away." Lin Tao's face twitched as his thought's of stealing it shattered.

"What do you mean given away? Why would they give something that important away? And to whom?" Mien Li's face looked as if it was dying to say it as an outstretched smile appeared on his face. His next word's felt as if a boulder had just fallen onto Lin Tao's back.

"It was sent to the Blue Wind Empire as a gift. I don't think I need to tell you for who." The moment Lin Tao heard the world's Yun Che, his fist tightened into balls.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'