<h4>Chapter 779 Prime Disciple Competition: Eclipse Ind</h4>


    Hopping off the Spire, Mira slowly descended to the ground, where there were only a few participants left. She didn''t bother with them as they were mostly injured, weak, or both.


    Sensing her connection with Elenei, she quickly found the massive Dracophoenix, who had now broken through to Low-Stage 6th Rank.


    At her full size, she was over 25 meters tall, or around the size of an 8-story building. She still had fiery red scales, icy white Phoenix feathers, and a serpentine body, but her strength seemed much more contained now that her vessel was big enough to hold all of it.


    Still, Mira couldn''t help but marvel at just howrge her ''pet'' was. Rhydian never grew that big, and she was a higher cultivation than Elenei.


    ''Is she going to keep growing like that?'' Mira wondered, hoping that wouldn''t be the case.


    ''No,'' Elenei answered back straight into her mind. ''I won''t keep growing endlessly like this. It''s just that the power of my race is difficult to hold within a smaller body. However, now that I''ve formed my Beast Core, I won''t need to keep growing bigger, just denser.''


    Mira nodded indifferently but was still thinking that 25 meters was a bit too tall.


    Nevertheless, it couldn''t be changed now, so she moved on.


    "Did you get everything you wanted? Are you a Progenitor now?"


    A happy yetplicated look appeared in Elenei''s eyes, but she ended up nodding. ''Yes and no. I''m definitely on the right path, but I guess there''s more to a Progenitor than just their strength and bloodline. I''ve almost separated myselfpletely from my Dragon and Phoenix counterparts, but there''s still onest step I need to take.''


    "Do you know what it is?"


    Elenei shook her head, ''I have an idea, but it''s just a theory. I think I just need a moreprehensive understanding of past Progenitors, how they came to be, what makes me different, and more about my own bloodline.''


    There wasn''t much Mira could help with there. If anything, Elenei knew more on that subject than she did, considering her knowledge was mostlyprised of myths or obscure visions through the statues.


    "Alright, enough about that. Let''s go to the next ind. I''m sure those greedy bastards from the other Sects are already looting the ce dry by now!" Mira''s eyes narrowed at the thought of someone stealing HER loot.


    ''Aren''t you the most greedy?'' Elenei gave Mira a weird look, as it almost seemed like she thought everything here was hers and these people were trespassing.


    However, in reality they were the ones who invaded someone else''s Secret Realm and were stealing all the goods. But, at the same time, she agreed with Mira''s words.


    This ce was too good to pass up. She couldn''t allow some inferior beasts to take what should''ve been hers!


    Elenei nodded and immediately started heading to the other side of the ind with Mira.


    Not even a minuteter, they reached the end of the ind.


    Mira and Elenei found themselves at a crossroads as they approached the trio of bridges. Each one led to a unique, fantastical ind that seemed to defy the norms of nature.


    To the left, the floating ind zed with roaring mes, painting a picture of hell itself. The ground looked like scorched earth with rivers ofva meandering through it. Fiery geysers sporadically erupted, throwing molten rocks into the air.


    This was an environment of destruction and rebirth, where the old was consumed to give way to the new. Eerily beautiful me flowers blossomed near theva rivers, their petals emitting a soft glow in contrast to the otherwise aggressivendscape. The very air around it flickered with heat, creating mirages.


    Mira and Elenei could feel the heat of the ind from where they stood, despite being at least a kilometer away.


    Straight ahead was a rather unique ind. It was as if someone had scooped a piece of the night sky and ced it in this realm.


    The exterior was draped inplete darkness, making it difficult to discern anyndmarks. But at its core stood a towering pir of radiant light, a beacon in the surrounding obscurity. It pierced the heavens, but nothing in particr could be noted from it.


    Close to the pir, one could see shadows moving, their forms elusive and constantly shifting, as if the very essence of the ind was in change.


    To the right was an ind that appeared to be a frozenndscape, yet not of ice. Instead, it was made entirely of crystal. The ground, the trees, and even the wildlife were crystalline entities.


    The entire ind sparkled and refracted light, creating dazzling rainbows in every direction. Cascading waterfalls of liquid crystal flowed from towering cliffs, pooling into cleargoons below. The air was filled with the gentle chime of crystal, a harmonious symphony that soothed the soul. This ce seemed to be in perfect bnce, a serene haven amidst the chaos of the other inds.


    Elenei''s eyes were drawn to the hellish fire ind, her Dracophoenix nature resonating with its fiery environment. The others looked great, but as a being whose origin and abilities were fire, that one stood out the most.


    "I need to go there." She murmured before ncing at Mira, whose eyes were somewhere else. "I''ll see youter, Mira. Don''t die."


    Elenei received a nod and stepped onto the bridge leading to the next fiery ind, not looking back.


    Meanwhile, Mira was looking at the center ind, the one that waspletely dark except for the beam of light. That one called out to her very soul.


    She didn''t know what she''d find there or if she would find anything at all, but her instincts told her she should go there.


    On the other hand, she also felt a faint pull toward the crystal ind. It wasn''t nearly as strong as the previous one, but something told her she wouldn''t lose out by going there either.


    Shaking her head, she turned back to the center. "I think I''ll have the most luck on the eclipse-looking ind."


    As Mira set her foot onto the bridge leading to the Eclipse ind, a cold breeze kissed her cheeks. The temperature drop was sudden but not ufortable; it was as though the very air around the ind was saturated with the mysterious energies of the night.


    The bridge itself seemed to be made of an obsidian-like material, cool to the touch and reflective, mirroring the myriad of colors beneath her feet. With every step, tiny ripples of light emanated from her footfalls, giving her the sensation of walking amongst the constetions.


    The closer she got to the ind, the more intense the obscurity became. The darkness wasn''t just an absence of light but felt palpable, like a living entity.


    But through that overwhelming void, the radiant pir at the ind''s center was a constant, casting a warm, inviting glow that seemed to push back the encroaching shadows.


    As she stepped onto the ind, she felt a shift – like stepping into another dimension altogether.


    The darkness was so thick that she could barely see her hand in front of her face. It felt like she had walked into a room filled with mud as it became more difficult to move.


    A whisper, so faint that Mira thought she might''ve imagined it, floated to her ears: "Seeker of light amidst the shadows..."


    Startled, Mira tried to discern where the voice came from. It was neither hostile nor friendly but eerily neutral. "Hmmm?" she tilted her head, looking around to see where that voice came from.


    Straining her ears, Mira attempted to trace the direction of the ethereal voice. The sensation of the thick darkness enveloping her was unnerving, but she focused on that beacon of light, which seemed to stand still amidst the chaotic ambiance.


    Drawing on her cultivation, Mira released her Soul Sense, aiming to get a better feel for her surroundings. The energy rippled through the dense atmosphere and illuminated faint paths, diverging in multiple directions. Each pathway looked as though it had been etched out of the shadow, bordered by walls of imprable darkness.


    "Seeker of light amidst the shadows," the voice whispered again, this time more clear, echoing from one of the paths. "To find what you seek, you must first lose yourself."


    Swallowing hard, Mira took a deep breath and immediately made her decision. She chose the path from where the voice echoed and began to follow it.


    The further she ventured down the chosen path, the more pronounced the darkness became. Yet, the voice''s echoes acted as a guiding force, drawing her deeper into thebyrinthine shadow realm of the ind.


    As Mira walked, the walls of darkness seemed to pulse, contracting and expanding as though they were alive. She could feel her own heartbeat synchronize with this movement, which was both mesmerizing and rming.


    A few more moments passed as she walked before everything wentpletely ck.