Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

As a former physician, Sorin was well-versed in matters of corruption. Human flesh—like all flesh—was a perfect carrier for corruption and could absorb unlimited amounts if given the opportunity.

The danger, therefore, was not in the absorption itself but in the results. Mental instability was the least of many potentially deadly side effects, as it was mutations and unintended physical transformations that most often killed people.

As a result, Sorin was ready when his bones started elongating and shifting chaotically. He used one of his hands to control the corruption and contain it inside his bones and another to wield a scalpel generated by Nemesis to cut out harmful mutations as they cropped up.

This resulted in grievous injuries that most cultivators would have trouble recovering from. Fortunately, Sorin had freakishly powerful regeneration capabilities and a Toxic Metabolism that converted the abundant levels of corruption in his body into life force.

The first things to change were the material and structure of Sorin's bones. Each of his bones had been hammered tens of thousands of times by poisonous mana and had, therefore, taken on the mana's attributes. There was little room for anything else in the current structure, making change a necessity rather than a side effect.

Instead of using brute force to displace the existing mana in his bones and compress their structure, Sorin flooded his bones with increasing amounts of corruption, allowing sufficient time for them to acclimatize and adapt at each stage.

The white bones beneath his silver bone runes quickly turned greenish black under the dual invasion of Madness and Violence. The two conflicting forms of corruption rapidly claimed territory and asserted their control over Sorin's mana stores.

This predictably led to a reaction from Sorin's divine mana. A clash ensued, threatening to tear his bones apart. It was only thanks to Toxic Metabolism that Sorin was able to endure long enough for the divinity in his bones to become corrupted just as the divinity in his blood had; a potent dark-gold coloring spread across his bones until it reached the core and pushed back the Divine Bone Rot eating his bones up from the inside.

Sorin's bone runes changed next. It started with chaotic changes in the periphery runes that caused instability and even threatened to take his life. Those that proved too dangerous were immediately destroyed by Sorin, making room for replacements.

Under the dual influence of Madness and Violence, Sorin's bone runes continued to change. Each cycle of change competed with precious cycles, yielding increasingly powerful variant runes. Eventually, the glow faded, once again revealing white bones without runes covered in a completely different pattern of silver runes.

Still white bones? thought Sorin. Is silver truly the limit? Does that mean that if the bone rot completely wears away at the silver, I'll be left with nothing?

Sorin noticed a change in his demeanor following the successful first tempering. His aggression increased slightly, and his inhibitions decreased.

One of these inhibitions involved his caution against proceeding recklessly. Since it had worked once, it should have worked twice, right? Also, his instincts were telling him the results should be mostly positive. He immediately doubled down and proceeded with a second tempering.

The darkness in Sorin's bones deepened. As for the runes on his bones, slightly larger and more important runes began to warp and twist.

The process was much less painful and strangely more controlled than the first tempering. Moreover, it elevated the corruption in his body from a supporting power to a legitimate asset.

His control over corruption increased drastically. His ability to detect corruption increased by leaps and bounds. The second tempering took twice as long, but the benefits he received were more than twice as great.

Sorin didn't even hesitate to proceed to the third tempering. This time, his major bone runes and the keyrunes on each bone were affected. As they transformed, he realized why the transformations were less risky and chaotic—more powerful runes had strict criteria for stability and were less likely to lead to uncontrollable results.

Once again, the amount of time required doubled. His control over corruption increased until it matched his control over poison. No, thought Sorin, circulating his now fully corrupted mana. My poisons corrupt. My corruption is poison. I've reached an equilibrium in all aspects.

These changes were best reflected in his various skills and abilities. Toxic Metabolism, for example, could now absorb corruption as easily as it did poisons. Hand of the Medicine God had further evolved to the point that its name had changed to Hand of the Twisted Physician.

Grove Keeper's Touch also evolved. His control over corruption in plant life forms had reached an absurd level, where he could actively guide the process and enact changes in specific attributes. This extreme change was accompanied by a name change. The technique was now called Grove Manipulator's Touch.

Python Coil and Adder Rush haven't changed, Sorin observed. Toxic Metamorphosis, on the other hand, now incorporates corruption into my physical transformations. My flesh is now many times stronger and more resilient than before. My regenerative prowess is through the roof, to the point that regrowing bone runes and large bone fragments isn't out of the question.

Ophiuchan Simulation's name hasn't changed, but its scope has increased dramatically. My ability to simulate medical matters has extended past combat and into matters of plant catalysis. After all, plants are life forms, and mutation and corruption are biological processes. Everything is logical. Yes… logical.

Then there's Serpentine Approximation. Yes, I see it now. A way forward. Bone runes… their elements aren't necessarily poisonous, but does that mean I can't approximate them? Really, anything is a snake if you try hard enough.

Also, how much time has it been? Why hasn't anyone come to check on me? Has my fox head medallion warded me again?

Corruption spiked in Sorin's cultivation chamber as he opened his eyes, but he immediately retracted the corruption and contained it inside his bones. Sorin didn't need a mirror to know his appearance was more devilish than usual. His cold and composed expression now contained a hint of wildness and barely controlled ambition.

Yes, I can see it now, thought Sorin as he brought up five bone models, one for each of his companions. They twisted and reformed until nothing remained but tiny serpentine runes. By using Serpentine Approximation for both the pattern and the unsealing, Sorin was able to quickly simulate a counter formation for each of the five bone patterns. All that remains now is concocting the tinctures.

Sorin first had to break through to concoct bronze unsealing tinctures, which is why he exited the laboratory and made his way over to the garden. A few scattered family members moved to talk to him, but upon seeing his deranged and focused expression, they made way and allowed him to reach the gardens unimpeded.

Sorin's medical garden hosted a thousand different medicinal plant variants, all based on roughly 200 or so base varieties. These accounted for not even 10 percent of the poisonous plants listed in the Ten Thousand Poison Canon.

The key is guided evolution, thought Sorin as he crushed demonic cores. Corrupt cultivators are taboo, and as a result, the most important element in generating additional varieties is pursued passively instead of actively.

Sorin used Grove Manipulator's Touch to prod variance in a certain direction. Every plant in the garden shot up like weeds. It only took a few minutes for Sorin to generate an entire crop of new poisons, which he immediately catalyzed to create seeds and analyzed for their properties.

Sorin immediately catalyzed seeds and crushed the remaining plants to analyze their properties. Twenty-six notable variants have been collected, and their properties match up with known poisonous plants in the Ten Thousand Poison Canon. Another hundred or so variants show promising changes. Updating experimental design to prioritize these evolution pathways.

He then repeated the process dozens of times, accumulating data and vastly increasing his collection. He continued until he accounted for roughly 30% of the plant entries in the Divine Poison Canon. Unfortunately, given the plant varieties he had on hand, this was the limit, and any further progress would require securing additional varieties.

Of course, that would have to wait until he dealt with a not-totally-unexpected visitor. "Elder Marik," said Sorin, rising from his seat on the ground. "What brings you to the gardens? Have you taken a liking to flowers since our last visit?"

"Sorin, we need to talk," said Elder Marik, stepping into the garden using one of the dedicated stone pathways. "I've received reports that your behavior has been erratic. I consulted with the elders, and it was decided that perhaps your contribution quota is too high. Perhaps rest would be the wisest course of action considering the upcoming third stage of the Shrine Descent."

Sorin wasn't surprised by the intervention. His actions had been a little strange. Not least of which was how he'd forced most of the gardeners out because of his strangeness, only to appropriate their plots of land to speed up his experiments.

"Six hundred new notable poison varieties, labeled and tiered, along with corresponding properties and matching ancient plants," said Sorin, tossing the elder a bag and an information jade. "I want these exchanged for contributions and want Delphi's branch to focus all its efforts on getting me additional plant varieties. In the meantime, I'll be secluding myself to break through to the fourth forging. I expect you to secure at least a thousand additional unique plant varieties by the time I finish in around a week."

Elder Marik's gaze hardened. "The stress really has gotten to you, hasn't it?"

Sorin's expression remained unchanged. "Whether or not I'm speaking sense can easily be verified by our Flesh-Sanctification apothecaries. As for resting, that is acceptable. I'll rest while breaking through. Worst case, I'll fail. A failed breakthrough isn't something unusual, is it?"

"I…"

"Elder Marik, let me clarify something," said Sorin, stepping up beside the elder. "I will not be abiding by meaningless restrictions going forward. I will no longer be pushed around. This place is officially my home. That means that while I'm here, I'll do as I damn well please.

"You might not understand what gives me this confidence now, but once the apothecaries review the contents of that bag you're carrying, you'll discover that it's only a matter of time before my authority outstrips yours."

Elder Marik sighed. "You leave me no choice, Sorin. If reason won't convince you, I'll simply use strength."

An unimaginably sharp aura descended upon Sorin. It was unlike anything Sorin had ever experienced—just being in the elder's presence caused him to sustain damage. But Sorin wasn't the same man as he once was. His bones weren't just hard but tough as well. As for his flesh, Toxic Metamorphosis had reinforced it a total of six times, one for each forging and one for each tempering. As a result, whatever damage Elder Marik managed to cause with his aura was instantly regenerated with very little energy expenditure.

"My turn," said Sorin, looking deep into Elder Marik's eyes. He released his Tarnished God Light and brought it bearing down on the Flesh-Sanctification cultivator. It pushed back the sword cultivator's aura and even counter-invaded his body with potent poisons.

Elder Marik was shaken. "This is impossible. You're just a Bone-Forging cultivator. You should at most be able to chase away my aura, not fight against it."

"For others, but not for me," said Sorin. "Unfortunately, I'd lose in a direct confrontation. Whether it be in terms of body, mana, or spirit, you greatly outstrip me. That's not even considering control, experience, and technique.

"But you have to wonder—what if I broke through to the Flesh-Sanctification Realm, even ten-percent sanctification? Would things still be so one-sided? Strength speaks loudest in the cultivation world, and that applies to future strength. Unless you plan on killing me to prevent such an occurrence, though I doubt that is something that will materialize.

Elder Marik chose to retract his aura in the end. "I will deliver your package to the apothecaries and deliver your message to Elder Simon. Just know misrepresenting your discoveries will lead to consequences."

Sorin nodded. "If you would be so kind, please send word to the Grand Elder as well. Relay my claimed findings and our confrontation just now. I'll assume all responsibility for the fallout."

Having said this, Sorin pushed his way past Elder Marik and headed back toward his laboratory. Unsurprisingly, the door was warded against entry—yet another move to delay his development by Elder Simon and his lackeys.

A simple press of his hand was all it took to dissolve the warding formation along with half the three-star laboratory door. Not because he particularly hated the door but because it sent a message: from now on, he wasn't to be trifled with.