I activated the final Formation, and the ground above me split open, revealing a long tunnel that first went sideways and then went straight up for hundreds of meters through solid rock, and then came out on the surface.

I jumped and then activated an anti-gravity field and slowly glided upward. Compared to how I could once stay afloat for only a few minutes at a time, the magic required almost no energy anymore. I could stay afloat indefinitely.

I came out of the cold, dark, dirt hole into the land of… Well, there wasn’t much to see around those parts. It was a rocky hilly area with a few bushes and mostly short grass, with a few small herds of wild animals grazing in the distance.

I flew higher so I could see farther, but the more I flew, the more I realized I was in the middle of fucking nowhere. There were no landmarks I recognized anywhere, heck, there weren’t even any tall trees to be seen. Only small thorny bushes, grass, some small cacti, and stones. Lots of small rocks and stones everywhere.

I saw a flock of birds higher up, but they seemed to be small, if extremely fast. No threat to me.

[Yaoo… Where the fuck am I?] It seemed to me that I was at the edge of a large desert somewhere to the northwest of the Myriad Beast Sect. But, considering the Elder flew for quite a few hours, and not in a straight line, I was probably thousands of kilometers away from home. And I had no idea where home even was.

First I had to find the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, and then I could go on from there.

[Aaaah, what a mess! I already went over the allotted week. The Elders will not be happy. But it’s not my fault, is it? I mean, I was captured by the enemy after all. It’s not my fault I came back late. And who knows when I would even find the way back.]

Yup. It totally wasn’t my fault if I got turned around and went in the opposite direction.

Okay, no. I can’t lie about that. But if I walk, it should take me some time. I can’t fly, after all, that’s an ability exclusively reserved for the Elders. I’m just being cautious, taking a long way around.

I dropped from the sky by cutting off my gravity manipulation and smashed into the ground like a rock.

First I had to find something to eat, maybe something to drink as well. As soon as I did that, I would go home. Okay, maybe a little rest first, I was pretty tired.

----------------------------------------

I wandered through the desert for a few hours. Every once in a while I flew up a few hundred meters while invisible and scouted the area around me. During the entire time, I only saw a few small animals, though I knew there were many more in hiding. All of them hardy beasts used to the desert terrain.

It was just after midday that I noticed a slightly larger green patch in the arid land. Since it was the only thing of interest as far as the eye could see, I decided to check it out. Also, where there was water, there were animals. I didn’t hold much hope for a nice fatty Golden Core beast, but anything was better than nothing.

I already ate the rest of the Elder raw, with the undesirable bits turned into pure Essence. I might have turned to cannibalism due to hunger, but I was still a classy savage.

I could already feel my power slowly growing as my cells sucked in the newly acquired Essence. It felt invigorating.

Galloping on all fours like a starving beast across the land, I lifted clouds of dust behind me, but my travel was short, and I soon reached the lush greenery I spotted previously.

It was a cool little jungle in the middle of the arid landscape, with large, lush plants and trees with large leaves, blocking out the sun. I heard songs of birds and chirping of insects as I slowly made my way deeper, and soon I caught the sound of running water.

I ran towards it happy. My robe was already dirty, and it had been weeks since I last showered. Not that I couldn’t summon some water from the air, but the desert was dry, and there wasn’t much moisture to be found, even with magic.

It was honestly too much of a hassle to bother. And I was alone anyway. That was until I heard the voices of people further up ahead.

As I came closer to the source of the sound of the running water, I spotted a small group of people. Cultivators. And they clearly spotted me, since they all turned in my direction.

“Oh, great… Another kid. As if one wasn’t enough already.” A man grumbled.

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“Looks like he’s alone, might be worth something.” Another countered. He was a large guy with a bushy black beard and a gourd in hand which he was drinking from. It was probably water since he sat beside a pool of crystal clear water just a few meters from a small waterfall.

“I really doubt it. Just look at him. Golden Core, First Layer. Even if he’s a genius, there’s only so much he can do.” The first one continued with his pessimistic opinion. He sat close to the large man and appeared remarkably unremarkable, slowly roasting some small lizard over a campfire.

I quickly scanned them all, and then got a stone thrown at my forehead.

“Hey! No peaking! I’ll only warn you once.” It was another man who spoke. It was a tall, lanky middle-aged man with a short goatee.

I absentmindedly rubbed my head to get the dirt off my forehead and considered how I would kill them all. None of them were in the Spirit Realm, and only three were at the peak of Golden Core. Those were the three that spoke.

But then one of the others made his way toward me in a friendly manner, so I put that thought on the back burner.

“Hey, brother!” He was one of the young ones. Possibly the youngest one there, except me. “Don’t listen to those guys, they said the same thing when I came. I’m Yaji by the way.”

[Gerald.] I answered. [What’s going on here, Yaji?]

“Oh, we are just waiting for everyone to gather. There’s still a few hours till the allotted time, right?”

[Hmm…] I nodded absentmindedly. [Why are we gathering here again?]

“Oh, you got to be kidding me! He doesn’t even know why we are here?!” The first guy shouted the question to nobody in particular.

“None of us do so calm down. Here, have a drink.” His large neighbor said.

“You seriously don’t know?” Yaji asked. I shook my head.

[Let me be honest, I just saw the oasis and came to get something to eat. Oh, and a shower. I had no clue you were here.]

“Oh, wow…”

[So… Mind telling me?]

“Sure! Ah, but first, you aren’t from a Sect, are you?” Yaji cautiously asked.

I smirked, nearly laughing. [Does it look like I belong to some Sect?]

Yaji looked me up and down, his gaze pausing on my facial hair and dirty, low-quality robes. I carried no recognizable attire that would connect me to any Sect.

“Yeah, you are right. They would probably throw you in a dungeon walking around like that, haha!” He laughed and I saw some of the other Cultivators smirking at my expense. That was excellent because I didn’t even have to lie in such a case. They would assume wrongly, and I wouldn’t correct them.

“So, here’s the thing… We’re here for a job from a mysterious employer promising Spirit Stones. Any Rogue Cultivator wanting to make some money was invited, the only requirement being in the Golden Core Realm. You fit the requirements, so will you join us? There are still a few hours to decide.”

[What is there to decide? I’m in!]

I would never throw away an opportunity for an adventure and making money at the same time. Are you kidding me? That was my favorite thing, and such experiences were rare to come by. And considering Golden Core Cultivators were required, the job was 100% a dangerous one.

“You are a quick one… Good. Our employer should be here in a few hours. We’ll have to wait til then.”

[Just make ourselves comfortable here, huh?]

“That’s right.”

[Cool. You guys do whatever. I’m going to freshen myself up.] Ignoring the gazes of the rest of the old guys, I followed along the riverbed and turned a corner, disappearing for view. I wasn’t uncomfortable being naked, but having privacy was preferred.

Then again, if it was a group of young women, maybe I would have let them watch. The best way to get customers is to advertise your goods. And I had the best of the best.

I took some soft moss and used it to scrub my body, getting rid of any dirt, dust, and grime that gathered over the weeks. It was unfortunate, but my body still functioned like a normal Mortal body and I had to do the same things, even if I could hold it in much longer.

All of that had to go, and after a few thorough washes, I smelled of herbs and flowers I found nearby. And after giving my clothes a quick wash, the tunic sparkled nicely as well.

Well, it was a beige color, but at least it was clean. My pouches were somewhat disheveled, but what could I do? I didn’t exactly know how to repair them, and considering how many battles they had seen, they were holding up great.

When I returned I saw a few people silently playing some board games, a few of them were having a meal, but the great majority were meditating. Or I should say Cultivating. They never missed a moment to get a session in. I imagine it must be hard to get a lot of free time to Cultivate in the wild. And the density of Qi was poor as well, even more so than the wilderness around the Myriad Beast Sect. Even lowly Outer Disciples had a better environment than these guys.

Being a Rogue Cultivator was tough.

I found a nice place and sat down, closed my eyes, and focused inward. Only I wasn’t Cultivating Qi, I was Cultivating memories. It was getting more and more difficult to quickly incorporate the relevant parts into my own Soul, and as I have noticed, many were missing. I knew some things to be a fact, without knowing why. It was okay for everyday life, but exploring deeper proved to be a problem.

If I didn’t know the fundamental reasons why some things were so, it made it harder to extrapolate.

Elder De Danw was a lightning swordsman, meaning most if not all of his techniques used some sort of lightning-enhanced attack. I tried to understand how he did it without hurting himself. The first time I tried it, I fried my own leg.

Maybe that’s why I haven’t used Lightning after that. Subconsciously I was avoiding repeating the same painful mistake. But Lightning was great at breaking through defenses and disabling enemies. It was definitely worth mastering it.

I almost wanted to take out one of the manuals to study the techniques firsthand, but then I remembered that something belonging to a Spirit Realm Cultivator would probably awaken greed in my fellow Cultivators.

As for the reason I haven’t detected any yet was simple. I looked poor. Even with all the storage pouches on my belt, they were in bad shape, and I was the lowest Realm of them all. What could a Golden Core First Layer possibly have that someone centuries old would lack? Basically, I wasn’t worth the effort of stealing from.

But taking a precious manual out of the storage ring would be a whole nother thing entirely.